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Copyrights 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MODERN TENNIS 



THE ENGLISH PRESS ON 

"MODERN TENNIS" 

Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. — "As a 
work on modern tennis Mr. Vaile 's book undoubtedly 
'stands alone.' " 

Sportsman. — ' ' There have been many books on ' Ten- 
nis/ but none has quite struck that happy medium 
of interesting the past master without boring him and 
teaching the novice without confusing him. . . . Mr. 
P. A. Vaile 's 'Modern Tennis ' would, therefore, seem 
to supply a long-felt want. It is in every sense of 
the word a handbook on the game, and it sets out 
the A-B-C of tennis in language that is so severe 
in its simplicity that even the dullest schoolboy can 
understand it. In a word the book teaches. . . . We 
can conscientiously recommend Mr. Vaile's book to 
budding champions. ' ' 

Scotsman. — "Mr. Vaile has such a clear style of 
description, such an enthusiasm for the game, and such 
a merry, breezy humor all through that his book is 
sure to become highly popular.' ' 

Truth. — "Is in many respects the best book on the 
game that has yet been published. The instantaneous 
action-photographs . . . form a specially valuable 
feature of the work. . . . Mr. Vaile, indeed, deals 
with every aspect and point of the game in a thorough- 
ly practical and lucid manner. ' ' 




Maurice E. McLoughlin — Playing a Smash 
National Champion, 1912-1913 



V 
MODERN TENNIS 



BY 
P. A. VAILE 

V 

Author of "Great Lawn Tennis Players," "The Strokes and 

Science of Lawn Tennis," "Modern Golf," etc. 



ILLUSTRATED BY EXPLANATORY DIAGRAMS 
AND ACTION-PHOTOGRAPHS 






FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
NEW YORK AND LONDON 

1915 



GrVass 



Copyright, 1915, by 

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 

(Printed in the United States of America) 

Published, May, 1915 



©CI.A397959 



THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE 

WEST SIDE TENNIS CLUB, NEW YORK 

IN RECOLLECTION OF MUCH KINDNESS 

AND HOSPITALITY FROM THOSE WHO 

ARE NOW MY FELLOW-MEMBERS 



INTRODUCTION 

Being a translation of the Preface by M. Max Decugis, the famous 
French player, to the French edition of this book. 

Mr. P. A. Vaile has asked me to introduce his 
book on Tennis to amateur players of this de- 
lightful game. 

I will do it simply and without any pretense to 
style, for I must confess that I feel much more at 
home with a racket in my hand than with a pen 
between my fingers. 

I do not know whether you have noticed how 
few and far between are the books on games that 
really deserve the name and that treat authori- 
tatively and in a competent manner the various 
rules governing the particular game under dis- 
cussion. As a rule, one encounters no more than 
the enthusiastic descriptions of amateurs, sincere 
enough, doubtless, in themselves, but lacking the 
technical knowledge that is absolutely indispen- 
sable if the presentation of the subject is to be at 
all convincing. Or again, one happens upon long 
scientific treatises by experts who, with the figures 
at their fingers' ends, give one the trajectory de- 
scribed in space, for instance, by a football, or, in 
the case of a quoit hurled by a strong effort, curves 
of exceptional accuracy but practically no value 
as creators of enthusiasm. It is rarely, indeed, 
that we get the practical side of things, which 
alone really interests the player. As far as tennis 
is concerned, to come down to particulars, tho 

vii 



viii INTKODUCTION 

much lias been written on the subject by amateurs, 
and even by champions, we must go to the books 
of those who have made a technical study of the 
game to find the really interesting reading. No 
study more complete, more practical, more 
authoritative, and at the same time more simple 
in its intelligibility, has been published than the 
work of Mr. P. A. Vaile, entitled Modern Tennis. 

In an easy, agreeable style, lucid and thoroughly 
sportsmanlike, if I may use the term, tennis is 
here explained, commented upon, and made abso- 
lutely clear by Mr. Vaile from the simple forehand 
stroke to the most complicated of the American 
cut services, with a detailed treatment of volleys, 
smashes, backhand play, etc., in a manner which 
exhibits the author's profound knowledge and 
long experience of the game. 

From this book beginners can learn how to 
make the first simple strokes, and even the method 
of holding the racket — very important points when 
commencing to play the game, inasmuch as the 
progress of a player depends upon his style and, 
consequently, upon the method by which his play 
has been formed from its inception. In follow- 
ing Mr. Vaile 's advice to tyros, young players can 
be certain of acquiring a style of play that will 
be well thought out and susceptible of rapid im- 
provement. Players of average skill will find here 
an analysis of the more difficult strokes which they 
have probably been long trying to make, but with- 
out success, owing to not knowing how to handle 
them properly. There will also be professionals, 



INTRODUCTION ix 

nay, even champions, who will find endorsed and 
carefully explained in this book the strokes and 
tactics that they hold most dear and that they can 
thus learn to perfect. All, in short, will find in it 
a compelling interest and will gain from it much 
practical instruction. 

This last is, in fact, the quality most character- 
istic of the volume, and we know of no higher 
praise that can be bestowed upon it. 

A little personal anecdote will serve to confirm 
the theories of Mr. Vaile. In October, 1904, 1 was 
in London, playing for the covered-court cham- 
pionship. I had reached the finals and was 
thoughtfully studying the play of Gore, whom I 
was to meet on the morrow, when Mr. Vaile took 
me by the arm and, making me sit beside him in 
the gallery, opposite the center of the court, said 
to me, "Do you want to beat Gore to-morrow!" 
I indicated my doubts of the result by a smile. 
"But it's quite simple!" said he. "This man 
plays all his balls to within a yard at the most of 
the base-line. Give him one of your long drives 
down the center and run up to the net. Imagine 
two tangents to your two extremes of reach to 
right and left, both starting from the point of 
departure of the ball that he returns to you. If 
you miss it, don't worry, it will be out if your 
position at the net does not enable you to kill it." 
I knew the value of Mr. Vaile 's theories too well 
not to put them to profit. On the morrow, there- 
fore, from the beginning of play, I put into 
practise his famous center-theory, and won the 



x INTRODUCTION 

first set 6 — 2. Rendered over-confident by this 
result I let down a bit and had the second set won 
from me by 6 — 3 and the third by 6 — 0. For- 
tunately I saw Mr. Vaile at this juncture, who 
pointed out to me the value of center-play. I once 
more employed this system and won the fourth 
set 6 — 0. Wearied with the exertion, I began the 
fifth set by playing in the back court and very 
soon found myself at a disadvantage of 1 to 4. 
While changing sides, my despairing gaze en- 
countered that of Mr. Yaile, who still sat in the 
gallery facing the center of the court. He made a 
gesture which seemed to say, "You are not doing 
what I told you to do — so much the worse for 
you." This gesture saved me. I took a new 
racket to give more speed to my drives and Gore 
did not get another game. Thanks to Mr. Vaile, I 
won the championship with the remarkable score 
of 6 — 2, 3 — 6, — 6, 6 — 1, 6 — 4, which shows pretty 
conclusively the advantages and the disadvantages 
of remembering or forgetting Mr. Vaile 's advice. 

It is then a good thing to understand the theory 
of the game and a still better one to apply it, and 
I can not impress too strongly upon those players 
who wish to acquire that most difficult-to-master 
of all qualities at tennis, which may be termed 
"head," that they should saturate themselves with 
the advice of Mr. Vaile. If they do so they will 
progress without a shadow of doubt. 

Personally, I experience a renewed pleasure 
every time I read over these eminently workman- 



INTRODUCTION xi 

like pages, and I have no doubt that Mr. VanVs 
book will rapidly become the vade mecum of every 
tennis-player who deserves the title. 

Max Decugis. 



This book was originally published in London 
in June, 1904. 

It went into its second edition in April, 1907. 

So far as was possible, the original text has been 
preserved, as otherwise the work would lose much 
of its force. 

It is published also in French and German, and 
is recognized as the standard work on the subject. 

English players would not recognize the value 
of center-theory until it was borne in upon them 
in the manner described by M. Decugis. 

I am much indebted to M. Decugis for his 
valuable assistance in preparing the French 
edition of this book for publication. 

P. A. Vaile. 
New York, April 15, 1915. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction vii 

The Court 1 

Implements 9 

The Grip of the Racket 14 

The Game 17 

Strokes — Class I 

Service 18 

The Forehand Stroke 25 

The Backhand Stroke 32 

The Half -Volley 36 

The Volley 39 

The Lob- Volley 45 

The Forehand Overhead Volley . . . . 46 

The Lob 49 

The Flight of the Ball 51 

Strokes — Class II 

Service 55 

The Forehand Drive 66 

The Backhand Drive 82 

The Chop 99 

The Lob 106 

The Volley Ill 

The Modern Service 114 

Foot-Faults 130 

The Ladies 140 

xiii 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Single Game 148 

Doubles 167 

Mixed Doubles . . . . 178 

Ladies' Singles 183 

Ladies' Doubles 188 

Peactise 189 

Tournament Play 192 

Umpiring and the Linesman 197 

English and Australasian Tennis Compared 199 

English Tennis . . 204 

Personalities 213 

How America Can Eegain the Davis Cup . . 222 

International Tennis 239 

Laws of Tennis 246 

Criticism of the Laws 257 

Eegulations for the International Lawn- 
Tennis Championship (Davis Cup) . . 264 
Eegulations for the Management of Tennis 

Tournaments 272 

Eegulations for Interscholastic Tourna- 
ments 289 

Cases and Decisions 290 



TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS 



FIGURE PAGE 

1 How to Mark the Court 5 

2 The Court 7 

3 The Net 8 

4 Angles of Sendee 20 

5 Position of Feet for Forehand Stroke 28 

6 Position of Feet for Backhand Stroke 33 

7 Positions of Racket in Half -Volleying 38 

8 Forehand Overhead Cut Service 56 

9 Reverse Overhead Cut Service 59 

10 Underhand Forehand Cut Service 60 

11 American Service and Reverse American Service . . 61 

12 Action of Racket in American Service and Reverse 

American Service 63 

13 Forehand Drive with Lift 67 

14 Flight and Bound of Ball in the Forehand Drive 

with Lift 69 

15 Rotation of Ball on Net after Lift 71 

16 Rotation of Ball on Net after Cut or Chop . . . . 72 

17 Natural Tendencies of Drive with Lift 73 

18 How Lift to Lift Checks Rotation of Ball . . . . 74 

19 Principle of Lifting Drive 75 

20 Error of Playing Rising Ball with Vertical Face . . 79 

21 Correct Position of Racket for Playing Rising Ball 79 

22 How to Play the Chop 100 

23 Effect of Playing Chopped Ball without Force .. 102 

24 Flight and Bound of the Ball in Plain Drive, Lifting 

Drive, and Chop 105 

25 Flight, Bound, and Return of Cut Lob 107 

26 Diagram Showing Value of Center-Theory . . . . 153 

27 Position for Receiver of Service 156 

28 Theory of Halving Distance for Lobs 161 

xv 



xvi TEXT ILLUSTEATIONS 

FIGURE PAGE 

29 Value of Centering the Service 171 

30 Maurice E. MeLoughlin Playing Forehand Drive . . 225 

31 R. N. Williams, 2d, at End of Backward Swing in 

Backhand Stroke 232 

32 R. N. Williams, 2d, Halfway Through a Backhand 

Stroke 233 

33 Maurice E. MeLoughlin, Showing Swing-back in 

Backhand Drive 236 

34 Maurice E. MeLoughlin, Showing Finish of Back- 

hand Stroke 237 



FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 



FACING 
PLATE PAGE 

1 Maurice E. McLoughlin — Playing a Smash 

Frontispiece ^ 

2 Forehand Grips . . 14 

3 Backhand Grips 16 

4 Maurice E. McLoughlin — Start of Service . . . . 20 

5 Upward Swing 24 • 

6 Just Before Impact 30 

7 Just After Impact 36 

8 Finish of Service 40 

9 Norman E. Brookes — About to Serve 48 

10 Upward Swing Before Impact 52 

11 Moment of Impact 56 

12 Just After Impact 64 

13 Finish of Service 68 

14 Anthony F. Wilding— Start of Service 72 

15 Just Before Impact 76 

16 Just After Impact 80 

17 Finish of Service 88 

18 R. N. Williams, 2d— Back Swing in Service . . . . 92 

19 Thomas C. Bundy — Reverse Service, Swing-back . . 96 

20 P. A. Vaile — Reverse Service, Swing-back . . . . 100 

21 Just Before Impact 108 

22 Thomas C. Bundy — Reverse Service, Moment of 

Impact 112 

23 P. A. Vaile — Reverse Service, Moment of Impact . . 116 

24 Thomas C. Bundy — Reverse Service, Finish of 

Stroke 120 

25 Norman E. Brookes — Forehand Drive, Swing-back 128 

26 Finish of Stroke 132 

27 Maurice E. McLoughlin — Forehand Drive, Just Be- 

fore Impact 136 

xvii 



xviii FULL-PAGE ILLUSTBATIONS 

FACING 
PLATE PAGE 

28 R. N. Williams, 2d— Forehand Drive, Just After 

Impact 144 

29 Thomas C. Bundy — The Chop, Swing-back, and 

Finish of Stroke . . 148 ( 

30 P. A. Vaile — Low Backhand Drive, Swing-back . . 156 i 

31 Just Before Impact 158 

32 Moment After Impact 160 , 

33 Turnover of Arm 162 - 

34 Finish of Stroke 164 - 

35 T. R. Pell — Low Backhand Drive, Backward Swing 176 

36 (a) Top of Swing, (b) Before Impact .. 180, 

37 Just Before Impact 184> 

38 Turnover Just After Impact . . 192 

39 Finish of Stroke 196. 

40 T. R. Pell — Horizontal Backhand Drive, Start, and 

Swing-back 200 

41 Coming Onto the Ball 208 

42 Cramped Drive on: Body 212 

43 Before Impact 216 

44 (a) Just Before Impact, (b) The Follow- 

through 220 

45 Finish of Stroke 228. 

46 T. R. Pell— Backhand Drive off High Bound, 

Swing-back 234 

47 Norman E. Brookes — Backhand Stroke in Stride, 

Impact 240* 

48 Anthony F. Wilding — (a) Backhand Stroke, Finish. 

(b) Back-swing in the Smash 244, 



MODERN TENNIS 



MODERN TENNIS 



THE COURT 

There are many different kinds of courts, such 
as grass, asphalt, cement, clay, wood, etc., but 
to my mind there is really only one court which 
absolutely fits the game, and that is a good grass 
court. Nearly all others make the ball dirty in a 
very short time, and once a ball has lost its virgin 
purity, it has no charm for me. Many, however, 
are not so particular, and can derive much pleas- 
ure from playing with drab balls in a dim light, as 
is so often done in covered courts. Nothing can 
surpass a fast, true, grass court, and he who would 
excel at the game should endeavor to secure his 
practise on such a one, altho when that is not 
available, a very good game may be played upon 
the aforesaid substitutes. 

HOW TO LAY OUT A GRASS COURT 

Employ some one who knows how to do it. All 
other ways are a delusion and a snare for ninety- 
nine of every hundred, and probably quite half 
a delusion for the hundredth. I have laid out 
many, and know, that at this game, I will back the 
professional against the amateur every time. In 
addition to employing the man who knows how to 



2 MODEBN TENNIS 

get the surface for you, get some friend who knows 
the game to see the court (or courts) laid out, 
otherwise there is a fair chance of the work being 
spoiled for you. 

He should see to the following points. The full- 
sized double court is 78 feet by 36 feet. I consider 
that you should have a clear space on each side- 
line of quite four yards if possible, and at each 
base-line there should certainly be eight yards and, 
if it can be spared, nine or ten. This would make 
a desirable size for your lawn, say, roughly, 132 
feet by 64. If you are laying down several courts, 
you will not require such breadth, as one borrows 
from the other, and it would be sufficient then to 
have between the courts but little more than you 
would allow on the side-line of one court. It is not, 
in my opinion, advisable to have your background 
too far from your base-line, as I think one gets a 
better idea of the length of the court if the back- 
ground rises somewhere about the distance sug- 
gested by me. I was once quite paralyzed by being 
called upon to play on an open space, on a per- 
fect court, but with no background, not even a 
net. If it were practicable, I should like to see 
the length at which the background rises settled 
by law. 

Any one not acquainted with the game might 
think I am very generous in the matter of space, 
considering that a court only 78 feet by 36 feet 
is required, but it must be borne in mind that a 



THE COURT 3 

ball pitching on the base-line may bound four or 
five yards; the player's arm and racket, together 
with his swing, will account for nearly another 
three yards. In addition to this, a player should 
always be able to advance onto the ball, so you 
will see that nine yards is not so much, especially 
when you consider the moral effect of the wall or 
netting, which I can assure you is large, very large, 
if you merely feel as you are running for a ball 
that you are going to hit the fence either with your 
body or the racket. 

For all ordinary play, any green hedge makes a 
good background, but it should always have wire 
netting before it. 

You must endeavor so to lay out your court 
that the sun shall at all times pass as nearly as 
may be across it in the same line as the net. 

The dimensions of the court have often caused 
me considerable thought. I have never read any- 
thing which went to show how the size of the 
single and double courts was arrived at. It seems 
that they have, like Topsy, "just growed" that 
way. I have never heard that they were designed 
with any particular ideas of proportion. We are 
so accustomed to them that we are inclined to think 
that they are as nearly perfect as they may be. 

This is not always a good condition of mind. 
If I thought there was any danger of the game 
developing into pat-ball, and in England there 
have been signs, I should suggest giving the court 



4 MODERN TENNIS 

an extra eighteen inches at each end, which would 
make the singles-court exactly three times the 
length of its breadth. I should retain the present 
service-line and base-line, and serve as now; but 
think of the drives we should see. When I see 
pat-ball too far advanced, I shall advocate the 
extra length. 

[In the American game it is possible that the 
extra length may be required in time, but for an 
entirely different reason, namely, to limit the 
speed of the service and prevent the too rapid ar- 
rival of the server at the net.] 

HOW TO MAEK A COURT 

This is not the way most people do it, but it is 
my way, and is very simple and easily remem- 
bered. Lay down your side-line, A B, of seventy- 
eight feet, wherever you intend to have it, as 
shown in Fig. 1. You must now remember the 
simple fact that the figures 3, 4, and 5, or any mul- 
tiple of them, will give you a right angle, so you 
put in a peg at C, four feet from B. Your as- 
sistant stands at B, and you measure out twelve 
feet of tape, that is the sum of 3, 4, and 5, and 
give him both ends of the tape to hold at B. You 
then pass the tape round C, at the four-foot mark. 
Then you take another peg and put it in at the 
corner D of the triangle made by stretching the 
tape tightly at the nine-foot mark. You have now 
your right angle, and as every line of a tennis- 



THE COURT 




tf o 

g 55 



D 10 ii i2 b 



6 MODEEN TENNIS 

court is parallel with another the rest is simple: 
you have only to measure the same distance apart 
at each end to get your other lines. Any multiple 
of the above figures, such as 6, 8, and 10, will give 
you the same result, and it really is better to take 
a multiple of 3, 4, and 5, but that is your formula, 
and is so simple that you can not forget it. This 
is really a better method than that usually advo- 
cated of taking the measurement at the net, and 
working from that on the diagonal and side-line, 
as in that case you may easily, through an error 
of an inch or two in the angle of the cross- 
measurement, get your long side-line considerably 
out of line with some fence or hedge running with 
it, which looks very unsightly, and you will not 
see this until you have had all your trouble for 
nothing. With my method, that can not happen, 
unless your eye is so crooked that you ought not 
to be marking out a lawn. 

The marking of the court and the measurements, 
also elevations of singles and doubles nets, are 
shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 

The net-posts are placed three feet outside the 
side-lines both for the single and double game. As 
the single game is frequently played over a double 
net, standards three feet six inches high are put 
underneath the net in a position where the posts 
should be. See Fig. 3. 

You will notice in the plan of the double court 
included in copies of the rules, that the side-lines 



THE COURT 



36 



4 6 



27 



4 6 



13 6 



13 6 



CO 






13 6 



13 6 



4 6 



27 



4 6 



36 



8 



MODEBN TENNIS 



of the service-court are not produced beyond the 
service-line. This is the correct marking of a 
double court, but is, in actual practise, rarely 



Doubles Net in Position tor Use 




3 ft. : Singles 
• Side-Line 
Doubles 
Side -Line 



Center Standard 
3 ft. High 



Post 

3 ft. 6 in. 

High 



Doubles Net with Standards Inserted for Use as Singles Net 



I3ft.: Singles 
Standard : Side-Line 

3 ft. 6 in. 



Singles 
Standard 



Figure 3 



seen, for the simple reason that as the court is 
generally used for both singles and doubles, it is 
marked as shown in Fig. 2, so that it may be used 
for both. 



IMPLEMENTS 

Rackets. — If you are a beginner, your best plan 
is to try to get some one who knows something 
about the game to assist you in your choice, but 
if you can not do this, my advice to you is to go 
to some reputable dealer, and get him to assist 
you. 

If you are a man, you can not do better than get 
a fourteen ounce racket; if a lady, a thirteen 
ounce will do. You may vary these weights after- 
ward when you know more, but they are good 
enough for any one to start with. These are the 
weights generally used in England. Personally, 
unless a player is very strong, I should always 
recommend fourteen ounces for a man and thir- 
teen ounces for a lady. Above these weights there 
is danger of losing quickness, particularly in vol- 
leying. 

There is at present a fad for rackets with very 
large handles. I should not advise any one, 
especially a beginner, to buy such a one. In my 
opinion it stiffens the wrist too much. Choose a 
racket with a nice, easy "grip," or, to put it 
plainly, get a racket with a handle which you can 
hold easily and naturally. Since this was written, 



10 MODEBN TENNIS 

and players have had the opportunity of seeing 
what Mr. N. E. Brookes can do with his very light, 
thin-handled racket, there has been a great de- 
crease in the number of large-handled rackets. I 
am pleased to see this, as they tend to spoil the 
game. 

Dr ess. —Most people use a shoe with a red 
rubber sole. These are very good if the rubber is 
good, but personally I always think they are un- 
necessarily heavy. In matters of tennis dress, I 
am a little unorthodox. I wear knickerbockers* — 
the best garb for tennis — a soft shirt without any 
starch, and I roll up my sleeves. My shoes are 
the lightest rubber-soled shoes I can get made, and 
they lace on to my foot like a running-shoe. You 
have heard the old racing saying, speaking of a 
horse's plates or shoes, "Better a stone on his 
back than an ounce on his heels"; well, there is 
no doubt it applies equally to a man at tennis. My 
advice to players is to wear the thinnest and 
lightest shoe that their feet will allow them to, and 
above all things, have it tight. It is amazing what 
this means in starting. See, however, that it does 



* Several years ago I gave up wearing knickerbockers, as 
I found them too hot for the northern hemisphere. I still 
think they are the best garb for the game, unless one were 
allowed to use shorts. One can move much more quickly 
in them than in trousers. Can any one imagine a baseballer 
in trousers! 



IMPLEMENTS 11 

not pinch, and particularly that it is not too short. 
The shoe I speak of fits like a glove, and is as 
soft. I am as strongly against heavy shoes as I 
am against big handles. It is simply a matter of 
accustoming yourself to the light ones. If you 
wanted to, you could soon play barefoot in com- 
fort. If you find that you really require extra 
padding under your feet, I would suggest thick- 
soled stockings or socks. These you can have 
made to order. In wet weather you may require 
leather-soled shoes with steel points, which are 
small steel spikes fastened into the shoe. 

This matter of light shoes is of far more impor- 
tance than most players think it is. Many English 
players use for soft grass lawns the same heavy 
shoes which carry them in comfort on covered 
courts. The English player is not too quick about 
the court. I think he anchors himself unneces- 
sarily. I shall give you an instance of what I 
mean. 

I was much interested in the boots — they were 
boots — that a champion player was wearing. I 
weighed them. They scaled eighteen ounces each. 
I weighed mine, and found, that altho they were a 
little heavier, and not so well made as the shoe I 
generally use, they weighed exactly six ounces 
each, or one-third of the English boot. 



12 MODEBN TENNIS 

I then worked out this little sum. 

English boot ? . 18 ounces 

My shoe . 6 ounces 

English player carries extra weight 

each step of 12 ounces 

Allow five steps per second and 
he then carries every seeond ex- 
tra weight of (12 oz. X 5) =60 ounces 

and per minute 60 

16)3,600 ounces 

or reduced to pounds 225 

60 

and per hour 13,500 pounds 

If the match lasts three hours he 

will carry extra weight in pounds 

of 3 

Reduce this to tons 2240)40500(18 

2240 

18100 
17920 

180 

and you will find that the man with the pedal dumb- 
bells carries 18 tons and 180 pounds more than I 
do. This is a mere trifle, of course, to a strong 
man, but altho I am by no means a weakling, I 
prefer to be without it. I wish it to be understood 
that I will not guarantee the accuracy of my calcu- 
lations. I was never good at advanced mathe- 
matics, but my little sum will give all of you, who 
use pedal dumb-bells instead of shoes, something 
to think about. Comparatively few players wear 
boots, but the shoe generally worn is quite twice 



IMPLEMENTS 13 

the weight of mine, and then the player only car- 
ries about 9 tons and 90 pounds more than I do, 
and his shoes don't get lighter as the player gets 
more exhausted. 

On hard courts some players find it absolutely 
necessary to use a heavier sole in order to save 
their feet. Even then it is advisable to have a 
reasonably light sole. 

Care of Racket. — A tennis-racket is, like a 
bicycle, essentially a fine-weather machine — for 
enjoyment — and for the man who uses his in wet 
weather, unless forced to, I have no advice. He 
deserves to buy others. If, however, you have to 
play in the wet, give your racket a dressing of 
gut-preserver or beef fat before you go out, and 
directly you come in wipe it carefully, grease it 
again, and put it away in your press. In America 
a racket should always be kept in a case, as the 
climate is very severe on the gut. 



THE GRIP OF THE RACKET 

The accompanying illustrations will show my 
readers what I think the best method of holding 
the racket. From these it will be seen that I advo- 
cate changing the grip for the backhand stroke. 
Some players do not change, but they are generally 
eccentricities, and I am speaking now for the mass 
of normally developed players. 

Many players put the thumb up the handle at 
the back of the racket while playing the back- 
hand stroke. It is undeniable that a very fine 
backhand stroke can be thus played. 

This, probably, is the best grip for all ground- 
strokes on the backhand. Nearly all the best 
backhand drivers use it, but it is not necessarily 
best for everybody. The fact that Norman 
Brookes uses the grip with the thumb around the 
racket is enough to show that it has merit, but it 
must be remembered that few players have a wrist 
so flexible as his. 

I am giving illustrations of the English grip. 
I must say, however, that I can not see any good 
points in the prevalent English grip which those 
shown by me do not possess. You will notice that 

14 




The proper forehand grip of the racket, showing arm and 
racket-handle in line. 




The same grip, but with the leath 

old grip and is the freest. 



in the hand. This is tl 




Forehand Grips 
Plate 2 



THE GEIP OF THE RACKET 15 

the English grips form the forearm and racket 
into a kind of very wide V. Many of our best 
strokes are played as tho the racket and arm to 
the elbow were one piece which is operated from 
the elbow. Would one construct a shaft for a 
golf-club, or a handle for a bat with an angle in it! 
I think not. Why then put the angle in where it 
is totally unnecessary, and so far as I can see a 
detriment rather than an advantage. Take the 
backhand, for instance, and you will see the Eng- 
lish grip works the wrist as if on a pivot, and 
that the back of the forearm is toward the net. 
Hold your racket and press the head round against 
your grip, and you will find how powerless you 
are. Grip it as shown by me with the thumb up 
the back of, or right round the handle, and the 
racket braced across the joint of the wrist, and 
try a volley or two, and you will be astonished to 
find the difference there is in the power. The 
prevalent hold and big handles are not, I think, 
calculated to improve volleying. 

Some argue that with this hold one can snap 
backhand half-volleys much further back. One 
may be able to. I get very few I can not convert 
into volleys by going forward, and I prefer this 
method to destroying my wrist-work by a hold 
which is quite unsuitable for me. Still this is only 
my opinion. If I had wanted you to adopt it with- 
out question I should not have shown you the other 
holds. You see them all and have read what I 



16 MODEKN TENNIS 

think of them. See which suits you best and take 
it.* 

It may be that these grips will not exactly suit 
you. If you can not use them, you must get as 
near to them, or that one which you select as most 
suitable for you, as you can. 



* Since this was written the English grips have been proved 
wrong and unreliable. 




Backhand grip. Thumb around handle. Front view. Note 
that the racket and the forearm are in line. This is ,-i line grip for 
volleying. 




Backhand grip. Hear view of the hold shown above. Norman 
K. Brookes uses this hold for all backhand strokes. 






Backhand grip with thumb straight up handle. This is 
the best grip for all backhand ground strokes. 




The English backhand grip. Notice die angle between the arm 
md i he racket-handle, which causes Inaccuracy and loss of power. 

Backhand ( rRiPS 

Pl a l 



THE GAME 

Most writers who have dealt with this subject 
profess to address themselves to beginners, but it 
always seems to me that they jump them rather 
suddenly into difficult exercises before they have 
taught them their scales. I intend to give the 
scales first, and afterward to try to teach my 
pupils some of the exercises. For this purpose, 
the strokes in Tennis may be conveniently divided 
into two great classes. 

I. Those which are played with a plain-face 
racket, in other words, those in which the racket 
strikes the ball fairly and truly, and projects it on 
its course with a minimum of rotation. 

II. Those which are played by the racket 
striking the ball while moving at an angle to the 
intended line of flight of the ball, and thus pro- 
jecting it through the air with a considerable 
amount of rotation on it. 

The first are the simple and natural strokes 
which most beginners would play unless they were 
shown the others, so I propose to deal first with 
them. 



17 



STROKES — CLASS I 

SEE VICE 

A good service is of the greatest importance to a 
tennis-player, and it is by no means so hard to 
acquire as many beginners seem to think. I would 
strongly impress on those who desire to excel in 
this respect two points : 

1. Do not try to hit your ball down into the serv- 
ice court. Get that idea out of your head. Hit it 
away from you. It already has downward motion 
before you hit it, and there is such a thing as gravi- 
tation. Hit it hard, and hit it away from you. 

2. Make your faults over the service-line. Do not 
put them in the net. I should prefer to see you 
hitting the base-line at first, instead of the net 
about a foot from the ground. 

This may sound silly to some who are wiser than 
the writer, but there are glimmerings of reason in 
these points, as I hope to show later on. 

To deliver the service, take your stand behind 
the base-line with your weight on your right foot 
(I am assuming you are right-handed, otherwise 
my directions will be reversed) ; throw the ball up 
until it is above your right ear, and some six or 
nine inches beyond reach of your racket. Imme- 
diately it gets within reach of the center of your 
racket, strike it with the center of your racket, so 

18 



SERVICE 19 

that it is propelled over the net and falls into the 
service-court diagonally opposite to you. At first 
you will no doubt do this in the nature of a pat and 
without much swing. When, however, you have 
acquired a reasonable degree of accuracy in get- 
ting the ball over the net, you must endeavor 
almost simultaneously with the act of throwing 
the ball up into the air to swing your racket well 
back behind your head,* so that at the moment the 
ball comes within striking distance — of the center 
of your racket, remember — you have worked 
up a considerable momentum, which is accentuated 
at the moment of striking the ball by the fact 
that you are slightly more than half ivay through 
the act of transferring the weight of the body 
from the right leg to the left. This transference 
of weight is of the utmost importance in this, as 
in nearly every other stroke in the game, altho it 
is not sufficiently insisted upon by writers. As 
you acquire greater accuracy, you may, if you 
desire it, throw the ball higher. Many good 
players do so, but I must confess that I do not 
see much to be gained by throwing it very high. 
Every golfer has had the rule, "Keep your eye 



* In my overhead forehand service the racket generally 
hangs by my right foot. As the ball is thrown up, the racket 
rises and passes behind my back, the head of it falls and makes 
a turn like an Indian club. By this time the ball is within 
reach, and the racket strikes it with a lot of momentum. It 
sounds rather like a theatrical service, but is really easy and 
natural, and is used by many players. 



20 MODEBN TENNIS 

on the ball," packed into him ad nauseam. It is 
just as important in this game. I go further and 
say, "Keep your eye on the bit you intend to hit." 
Of almost equal importance is the matter of 
transferring the weight from the one leg to the 
other at the psychological moment. Every golfer 
knows what this means. If his weight be not 
properly transferred at the critical moment, his 
drive suffers. I have tried again and again to 




E j C F 

REPRESENTS ACCORDING TO 

PLAYER'S HEIGHT FROM 

3 FT. UPWARD 

Figure 4 



make young players understand this, yet some of 
them persist in standing at the base-line, and 
giving the ball half-arm pats without any "body" 
in them, kind of "put-a-penny-in-the-slot-and-see- 
Grace-bat" style, that is most aggravating to any 
one possest of average intelligence. 

The importance of hitting the service at the full 
extent of your reach will be apparent on a refer- 
ence to Fig. 4. A is the server, and when he hits 
the ball at the full extent of his reach and height, 
AB, flying in a straight line it travels from B to 
C, and he has all that strip of service-court be- 
tween C and E available to him for his fastest 
services, with, of course, a bit more in the corners 
on cross-court services. Supposing, however, he 




Mai-rim; E. McLoUGHLIN SERVIN< 

McLoughlin is here shown starting bis service. 
grip for the forehand cut services. 



in, 



Plate 4 



SERVICE 21 

is ill-advised enough to persist in his half-arm 
deliveries, to pass the net and pitch in the service- 
court, his ball in a straight line will travel in the 
dotted line from D to E, and will land practically 
on the service-line with the same relative margin 
for cross-court services as in the other service. 
I am in each case taking practically the extreme 
to point the importance of my exhortation. 

As in cricket, so in tennis, good length is of 
the utmost importance. Make your faults over 
the service-line, not in the net. The first service of 
course should be the more severe of the two. It 
is here that you must try your best. Your second 
is your reserve, and you generally go to make that 
sure. So does every one else, and generally it is 
so sure that it might almost as well be a fault. It 
should be the endeavor of every rising young 
player to cultivate a respectable second service. 

Always endeavor to place your service so that 
your opponent has to move to return it, and, once 
you have discovered his weak spot, give him every 
opportunity to practise. Do not unduly exhaust 
yourself by trying for a desperately hard service. 
Of course, it is a good thing to have up your sleeve, 
but as a matter of fact a well-placed, medium- 
paced, good length service is often much better, 
especially in a single, as it gives one so much more 
time to get into an attacking position at the net. 

In returning the service, as in nearly all 
strokes in tennis, you should stand practically at 



22 MODEKN TENNIS 

right angles to the net if the ball be coming 
straight down court. Speaking generally, your 
position will be such that your shoulders are par- 
allel with the line of flight of the ball, that is to 
say that you nearly always stand sidewise on as 
the ball approaches. By the time your stroke is 
finished, your chest will be facing about where the 
ball has gone. In the plain-faced overhead serv- 
ice which I have been endeavoring to explain 
above, you must be careful not to "chop off " your 
stroke. After hitting the ball, let the racket travel 
on until it comes down naturally and nearly hits 
your left knee. This is technically termed "fol- 
lowing through' ' your stroke. 

Whatever you do, see that you hit the ball 
directly it comes within reach of the center of your 
racket ; in other words, always serve so as to get 
every inch out of your height and reach. 

I have spoken about the important rule of keep- 
ing your eye on the ball up to the very moment that 
you strike it, also of the importance of correct 
transference of weight. To these may be added 
another point which is not sufficiently drilled into 
beginners, and which, truth to tell, is rarely suf- 
ficiently attended to, through not observing the 
first and most important rule of keeping one's eye 
on the ball, and that is, "Always hit the ball with 
the center of the gut of the racket." This is the 
business portion. Of course, with many of the 
cut-strokes this can not be done with the same 



SERVICE 23 

accuracy as when the shot is played with a plain- 
face racket meeting the ball in a direct line of 
flight, but even in these cut-strokes the endeavor 
always should be to see that the ball hits as near 
to the center of the racket as possible. 

I have not referred to the underhand service 
here, because a plain underhand service is quite 
out of date. I shall in another place refer to a 
useful variety of the underhand service. 

I think the best position from which to deliver 
your service, provided that you intend, as is usual, 
to follow it up, is about four or five feet from 
the center of the base-line. If you are playing 
from the base-line, which I hope you are not, you 
may vary it as it suits you, but don't wander far 
from the center. I am referring now to singles. 
I shall deal with the position of the server in 
doubles later on. 

When awaiting the service, one should be on 
one's toes. It is quite a mistake to stand flat- 
footed and, as so many do, with stiff legs when 
one is expecting a fast service. 

It is impossible to start quickly if the knee- 
joints are not bent and the heels are not off the 
ground. These actions must take place before one 
can start. Then have it done before the ball 
leaves your opponent's racket. Be on your toes, 
with your weight thrown forward, so that you are 
within a few pounds of overbalancing toward the 
net. 



24 MODERN TENNIS 

The weight is borne across the feet from the 
ball of the big toes and forward of that line — 
roughly speaking, on the front third of the feet. 
The moment the server sets, one's body should go 
down and forward in such an attitude that one 
is ready to spring on the instant. In dealing with 
the modern service one has not time to adjust one's 
position after the ball is delivered. 

This is a most important point, and one that is 
lamentably neglected by most men, and by nearly 
all women. McLoughlin is a good example as to 
how one should await the service. He is loose 
all over and is ready to spring for the ball before 
it has left his opponent 's racket. The consequence 
is that he gets aced, comparatively speaking, very 
seldom. 

In awaiting the service one naturally faces one's 
opponent with the racket held in both hands. 
Many players hold it as for playing a backhand 
stroke and support it at the neck with the left hand. 
There is no settled rule for this, but it is well to 
hold it so as to be ready to cover one's outstand- 
ing weakness, if one has any, as quickly as pos- 
sible. The racket should always be held across 
the body, resting lightly in both hands, and sup- 
ported as in receiving the service. 

Do not, however, descend to hopping about as 
some players do. It is most ugly, unnecessary, 
and useless, as one may get caught in the middle 
of a jump. 




Maurice I-:. McLoughlin— Serving 

Notice the bond of the arm with the elbow high in the air. the 
grip of iii<- racket, and the manner in which the body is coming 
onto the ball. 

Plate 5 



THE FOEEHAND STROKE 

This is the staple of the game of most players, 
and so should from the first be studied most care- 
fully. Having thoroughly assimilated the four 
cardinal rules laid down in the chapter on serv- 
ice, and which will bear repeating, namely : 

1. Keep your eye on that portion of the ball 
which you intend to hit ; 

2. Hit the ball with the center of your racket ; 

3. Be transferring your weight from your right 
leg to your left as you hit the ball ; 

4. "Follow through' ' your stroke; 

the beginner must next lay himself out to acquire 
the art of getting the ball back over the net with 
certainty. 

I have heard it said that a famous player was 
once asked by an old lady what was the most im- 
portant thing in tennis. His answer was, "To 
get the ball over the net, madam ,, ; and so it is. 
If I were asked the next, I should say, "To pre- 
vent your opponent getting it back"; and this 
will be most readily achieved by acquiring a good 
length, which is of the first importance ; by that I 
mean, learning so to regulate your strength as to 
pitch your ball near the base-line. 

For the forehand stroke, you should stand with 
your left side toward the net, your left foot in 

25 



26 MODERN TENNIS 

front and pointing almost straight at the net (pre- 
suming the line of flight of the ball to be parallel 
with the side-lines). Your feet will be about 
eighteen inches apart, and your right foot, upon 
which the weight of your body will rest prepara- 
tory to the stroke, turned almost at a right angle 
to the left foot. For position of feet, see Fig. 5. 

Many of our best players play their forehand 
shot when the ball is at the top of its bound with 
a sweeping horizontal stroke, but the beginner 
will find it easier to let the ball fall until it is with- 
in nine or ten inches of the ground before he hits 
it. He then hits it with his racket, which should 
be swung from away behind, and on a level at 
least with his right shoulder, at such an angle as 
to carry it over the net, and with such force as to 
allow it to drop into the court beyond, transferring 
his weight from right to left leg so that he executes 
the stroke at the time he is, as nearly as can be, 
half through such act of transferring his weight. 
This stroke is a pure underhand shot, and the 
racket, in making it and following on, makes three 
parts of a circle in the line of flight of the ball. 

This is the foundation stroke in tennis. It 
should be learned both forehand and backhand. 
Ignorance of this foundation stroke accounts for 
the strange inability of many good players to deal 
properly with a low ball. This stroke, either with 
the plain face of the racket or with a slight cut, 
is the natural answer to the low ball. Many, in- 



THE FOREHAND STROKE 27 

deed most, players step onto their stroke, taking 
a short step toward the ball with the left foot 
for the forehand stroke, and with the right foot 
for the backhand stroke. Some, when in position 
for their stroke, but with the weight on the front 
leg, will throw their weight onto the rear leg as 
the racket rises in the air, and then, all with an 
easy, natural swing, return it to the leg which is in 
front as they play the stroke. 

It must be remembered that in this most impor- 
tant matter of transferring the weight, altho I 
say you strike the ball almost half-way through 
the swing, as a matter of fact you are really past 
the balance, the scales have turned, and your 
weight is doing the work. 

In making both the forehand and backhand 
strokes, the weight is placed upon the leg further 
from the ball preparatory to the act of striking. 
In nearly every illustration which has hitherto 
been given of these important positions you will 
see a man standing slack and flat-footed. Now 
this is a great mistake, for, altho the weight is 
thrown almost entirely on the rearmost foot, if 
you are in a correct position you will find that it 
is concentrated at the ball of the big toe and across 
in a line therewith. This is the starting-point, 
the point on which your weight swings, or is 
poised, preparatory to being shifted into a similar 
position on the other leg, and if you notice care- 
fully you will find that your rear heel is, or should 



28 



MODERN TENNIS 





pq 1 

O l 

E-i 1 

W ' 

O 1 

o 


NET 


LEFT y^ 
RIGHT 









THE FOREHAND STROKE 29 

be, scarcely in contact with the ground, and if it 
is, then it should certainly be bearing little, if any, 
of your weight, for that should be thrown onto 
the ball of the toe, and if one may judge by the 
feeling, the muscles of the calf, as you stand, with 
knee slightly bent, and every muscle ready in the 
best position to go directly the brain telegraphs 
the word of command. Similarly, do not have the 
front foot flat on the ground. Use the ball of the 
big toe to keep in touch with mother earth until 
your weight comes forward, and the rearmost foot 
takes up that function. 

The only time when it is permissible, and in 
some cases practically unavoidable, that you 
should play with a flat foot is when you are taking 
low volleys. 

After you have acquired a reasonable degree of 
certainty in returning the ball, your next endeavor 
should be to make it pitch as near to the base-line 
as you can every time without sending it over. 

Do not get it into your head that the ball must 
just skim over the net. You can get a good length, 
fair-paced drive quite two feet above the net. 

One of the greatest faults of nearly all beginners 
is getting too close to the ball both in its line of 
flight and laterally. A beginner should stand well 
away from the ball both sidewise and lengthwise. 
Let it have its bound and then deal with it. It is 
fatal to be cramped in your shot, and it is much 
easier to play your stroke advancing than retiring. 



30 MODERN TENNIS 

The first is natural, and you have all chances in 
your favor, whereas, if you have to play a shot 
while retreating, the chances are much against 
your making an effective stroke. Eemember, you 
always want the assistance of your body, some- 
times certainly in a very slight degree, but even 
that slight amount can not be so effectively ob- 
tained when you are "in retreat/ ' as it can, for 
instance, even when you are " poised' ' for a mo- 
ment. 

The body should be nearly parallel with, or 
facing, the line of flight of the approaching ball, 
and not, as laid down by some writers, the direc- 
tion in which the ball will come. 

The racket must be held firmly and naturally. 
In this stroke there is practically no wrist-work. 
The left arm should not hang loosely, as is some- 
times advised. It should have "muscular inten- 
tion' ' and should balance the right, swinging 
forward and round in front of the body as the 
racket is swung behind the right shoulder, and 
coming back as the stroke is made and the right 
arm thrown forward. Indeed, at the finish of the 
stroke, it will be found that many players involun- 
tarily extend the left arm behind them, so as to 
be practically in a line with the right at the finish 
of the stroke. 

Above everything, acquire certainty before you 
begin to think of pace. I know young fellows who 
have been playing for years, who have all the 




Mai-rick E. McLoUGHLlS SERVING 

McLoughlin is here almost falling onto tlu> ball. Notl 
angle of the racket-face and the manner In which M<l.< 
is keeping his righi Cool behind the line. 



ce Hi.' 
ughlio 



1'LATK G 



THE FOREHAND STROKE 31 

physical advantages necessary to make champions, 
who serve half-arm pats without any body-weight, 
and wildly slash at all and sundry balls, counting 
the afternoon well spent if a few of these meteoric 
eccentricities happen to bite the chalk by accident ; 
but this is not tennis. Accuracy in placing and 
certainty in returning first: then, when the time 
comes, and the necessity, severity. 



THE BACKHAND STEOKE 

It is amazing how many players make this shot 
out of position. It is of the utmost importance 
that the feet be in proper position for the stroke. 
This position is the reverse of that laid down for 
the forehand stroke. The right foot must be ad- 
vanced and the toe pointing almost, but not quite, 
parallel to the line of flight of the approaching 
ball. The left is in the rear about 18 inches, 
nearly at right angles to the right (see Fig. 6), 
and bearing your weight. As in the forehand 
stroke, so in this, your body should be sidewise 
to the net, as most writers put it, but, of course, 
as the ball comes from different directions this is 
not always right. Your body should be facing, 
and parallel with, the line of flight of the ball. 
You must understand this clearly, as it is of im- 
portance. You are not to face in the direction 
from which the ball is coming. You must stand 
so that, looking right ahead of you, the ball will 
pass the line of your vision at a right angle; in 
other words, you must be "sidewise on" to the 
ball. 

One of England's ex-champion players consis- 
tently plays his backhand stroke off his left foot. 
The consequence is he can not make a clean pass- 
ing shot down the side-line on that side, as he 

32 



THE BACKHAND STKOKE 



I 
i 
i 



'a 

'fa 

l° 
i z 



RIGHT 



4 



LEFT 



o=> 



34 MODEBN TENNIS 

gets such a large amount of cut on the ball. I 
have seen his return go a foot inside the court and 
curl a foot outside. This will show the impor- 
tance of the position of the feet. That man is 
robbing himself of at least two feet of room at 
the net. 

All the general rules laid down concerning the 
forehand stroke apply with equal force to the 
backhand ; indeed, it is wonderful how similar are 
the mechanical principles involved in nearly all 
ball games and the strokes thereof. 

The stroke is played by swinging the racket well 
back until it is within a few inches of the head, 
and then stepping onto the ball and striking it 
with an even swing about a foot before it gets 
quite close to the body. Many players forget 
the different positions of the face of the racket 
when held naturally and with the face at right 
angles to the floor, by, first, the forehand grip, 
and, secondly, the backhand grip. Take these 
grips, and examine the angles for yourself, and 
you will then understand the necessity for hitting 
your backhand shot before it gets "in" to you. 

I have said, play the ball sidewise with your 
right foot foremost. I can not impress this too 
strongly on the beginner. As a matter of fact, 
many fine strokes are played with remarkable 
accuracy by some players, when they are playing 
at a still greater angle, almost with their backs to 
the net. 



THE BACKHAND STROKE 35 

Before I temporarily leave the consideration of 
the two most important ground-strokes, I shall 
risk repetition and remind yon of the tennis- 
player^ alphabet. 

1. Keep your eye on the ball, and not only on 
the ball, but on that portion* of it which you intend 
to hit* You do not always hit it in the same 
place, as will hereafter appear. 

2. Hit the ball with the center of your racket. 

3. At the moment of hitting the ball, be trans- 
ferring your weight from your left (in this case) 
leg to your right. 

4. Hold your racket firmly when you are making 
your stroke. Neglect of this causes the loss of 
many strokes. 

5. Follow through your stroke. 

I want you to pay particular attention to the 
words "be transferring. ' ' In driving at golf, as 
already mentioned, a great deal depends upon the 
correct transference of the weight of the body at 
the critical moment, and so it does in tennis. You 
really hit the ball slightly more than half-way 
through the act of transferring your weight. If 
this point is thoroughly mastered, and you get 
your body to do its fair share of the work, you 
will be astonished to find what pace you can get 
out of a stroke by correctly "timing" the body 
onto the ball. 



* This, of course, is a counsel of perfection, but it is what 
must be aimed at. 



THE HALF- VOLLEY 

I am always amused at the half-contemptuous 
short shrift this beautiful and useful stroke re- 
ceives. I am inclined to think that it is somewhat 
on the same lines as the public opinion which 
caused " volleying' ' when first introduced to be 
considered "bad form," and the enterprising 
player who bounded to the net and killed his oppo- 
nent's soft returns, in very truth a " bounder' * 
(in English slang meaning a very objectionable 
person) — because the other fellows couldn't do it. 

To a great extent this is so with the half -volley. 
It really is not a very difficult stroke, but it has 
never yet been forcibly borne in upon tennis- 
players why they miss this particular shot so fre- 
quently. This is the stroke of all strokes which 
is played by most players nearly blindfolded. 
Here again let me shout in stentorian tones, 
1 ' Keep your eye on the ball. " Do we miss a drop- 
kick? Have we any objection to a half -volley at 
cricket? No, because we look at these, and 
we don't look at the half -volleys on the tennis- 
court. There is no stroke which allows so many 
balls to pass "clean through the racket." This, 
accompanied by the fact that the stroke is nearly 
always used merely as a defensive shot, has, I 
think, invested it with terrors it should not possess. 
A good player should be able and willing to take 

36 




Maurice E. McLoughlin — Serving 

McLoughlin bas now struck the ball, yet his right Coot lias not 
crossed the line. It comes in now very Cast as he rims up to the 
net. This is a perfectly fair service. 



Plate 7 



THE HALF-VOLLEY 137 

this stroke on as an offensive shot, if he sees that 
it will give him a better opening than waiting to 
play it later. If you doubt my contention, get a 
friend and practise the stroke, and you will be 
astonished what you can do with it if you observe 
the cardinal rule of the game, which applies with 
greater force to this stroke, because it is so flag- 
rantly neglected in connection with it. 

The stroke is frequently played without any 
follow through at all, and consists of meeting the 
ball with the face of the racket almost immediately 
it has left the ground and before it has had time 
to travel more than a matter of inches. It is a 
most useful shot. It can be, and indeed has to be, 
played in quite a variety of positions. It is 
amazing what balls a good half-volleyer can re- 
turn. I have seen a ball pass a player on his back- 
hand, apparently a hopeless case for him, when, 
with a swift turn, his back to the net, and a wristy 
half-volley, he has turned what looked like a cer- 
tain loss to him into a good attacking position. 

Few players realize the mechanical principles 
involved in half -volleying. You will see most of 
them meet the ball with the face of the racket in- 
clining too much backward and away from the 
net. They apparently forget that the ball is al- 
ready striving hard, with the initial force of its 
bound, to rise, and that the angle of the face of 
the racket must be such as to counteract this ten- 
dency. A glance at Fig. 7 will explain my remarks 



38 



MODEEN TENNIS 



quite clearly. This, of course, refers to all balls 
of and above medium pace. If the ball is so slow 
that it requires lifting, it may be better, if you can 
not get to it in time to volley, to let it bound. 

It is distinctly a stroke which every player 

should have at his command, and much more per- 

X f ectly developed than it is 

O v O v a ^ present. 




COURT 
Vertical, rigidly held racket and natural rebound 




COURT 

Racket forwardly inclined to correct upward tendency. Dotted 
line shows corrected rebound. 

Figure 7 

N.B. — In most of the figures the head of the racket only has 
been shown, because to produce the handle of racket or the body 
of the player would complicate the figure ; and in no case are 
balls, rackets, or anything else, drawn to scale. 



THE VOLLEY 

The volley is a stroke played before the ball has 
struck the ground. It is indispensable, is easily 
acquired if one has a fairly good eye, and should 
be assiduously practised, for half the charm of 
tennis lies in good volleying. When stand- 
ing in position for a volley at the net, the feet are 
kept about eighteen inches apart, the toes turned 
outward, the knees slightly bent, and the head 
and shoulders thrown forward so that the weight 
of the body is all forward. You are practically 
almost on the balance, and you hold your racket 
horizontally across your body, supported at the 
splice by your left hand. 

For all volleys, the same general principles as 
are laid down for striking the ball in service, which, 
of course, is a volley, apply, but there are many 
volleys which come to you at the net, which are so 
fast that they are played almost by the wrist or 
arm, with what little body weight you are enabled 
to put into them by mere "loin rotation,' ' which 
means the half swing of the body on the hips, or 
by falling over your balance onto the ball, to coin 
an expression, for the shot will be played almost 
before you have started your short step onto the 
ball. 

39 



40 MODERN TENNIS 

For all low volleying, get your eye as much in a 
line with the ball as you can; in other words, 
crouch to them, so low that you can take nearly 
everything with the head of the racket above the 
wrist. This latter point is strongly and ably 
shown and dealt with in Messrs. Dohertys' inter- 
esting treatise on the game, and is of great im- 
portance, particularly in low volleys at the net, 
and, as they point out — but this I consider a much 
more doubtful point — in low volleys at and about 
the service line. Certainly, however, if execution 
counts for anything, any one who has seen the 
very fine low volleying of the brothers will deem 
the matter worthy of consideration. At the same 
time, there is no mechanical reason why these 
volleys can not be played just as well with the 
underhand stroke. I am inclined to consider that 
it is only a matter of practise, and that they would 
prove just as effective as when played in the 
manner suggested by Messrs. Doherty, who, I am 
rather disappointed to note, give no reason what- 
ever in favor of the practise. My idea of always 
as much as possible keeping the eye in a line with 
the flight of the ball when taking low volleys hardly 
sufficiently applies here — altho in a modified 
degree it does — and, in the absence of any explana- 
tion, I must say that I fail to see any reason why, 
with practise, a good low volley can not be de- 
veloped with the head of the racket below the 
wrist. It is certainly a far more natural shot, 




Maurice E. McLoughlix — Serving 

This is. perhaps, the mosl remarkable picture of the finish <>r 

McLoughliu's service that has over been taken. Note carefully 
where the racket finishes, and the turn of the wrist. 



Plate 8 



THE VOLLEY 41 

and can with practise be very accurately treated. 

I have very strong opinions on the volleying 
question. Some people say they are extreme, but 
I shall give them to you, for they are valuable. 

Axiom I. Never let the ball hit the ground when 
you can play it with a reasonable chance of a good 
stroke on the volley. 

Axiom II. Play every volley possible overhead, 
or at least with the head of the racket above the 
wrist, always, however, observing the rule of keep- 
ing the forearm in line with the handle of the 
racket. With dropping balls and low volleys 
generally, you have my ideas and Messrs. Doher- 
tys\ Try them both and take that which suits 
you. 

[I am bound to say that I can not now conscien- 
tiously advise any one even to experiment with 
the advice of Messrs. Doherty to keep the head of 
the racket above the wrist for low-volleying. 
This hold has been proved wanting.] 

The immense importance of volleying is that you 
save much time and so are more likely to get your 
opponent out of position, or secure an opening to 
finish the rest at the net by a good volley. 

Most players volley much better when close up 
to the net than from the back court. It is, I think, 
largely a matter of moral courage. Consider the 
splendidly placed volleys you serve to your oppo- 
nent whenever it is your "deal." Why should 
you not volley better from the back court than 



42 MODEEN TENNIS 

you do, for you are nearer the net, and have about 
four times the space at least — for the net shuts up 
most of the service-court — that you have when 
serving from the base-line? 

I know that I shall be told that in the service you 
have the chance of putting up your own ball and so 
on, but it must be remembered that the service is 
the volley — a straight-dropping ball — that re- 
quires most accurate timing, and that there is no 
other volley played which must be directed into 
so circumscribed a portion of the court — a mere 
strip for fast services. 

On the other hand, in ordinary volleys nearly 
the whole of the court is open to one and — here is 
the advantage — generally the ball is approaching 
the player, altho it may be dropping fast, and is 
therefore easier to time. I am certain that 
most of the bad volleying behind the service-line 
is lack of moral courage and of confidence in the 
law of gravitation. Players always, or nearly so, 
want to assist too much the already acquired down- 
ward impetus of the ball, and lose sight of the 
fact that even after the impact of their racket has 
temporarily checked the ball's downward flight, 
this impetus continues to assert itself. 

I should recommend young players to try this 
plan. Get a friend to throw up lobs. Stand in 
the center of the three-quarter court and volley 
them back to the base-line. Note carefully how high 
they pass above the net, and thus you will be able 



THE VOLLEY 43 

to eliminate from your mind to a great extent the 
bugbear of the net, when you are making your 
stroke. If I were starting a player who was 
really keen on the game, I am not sure that I 
would not make him learn his smashing without 
having any net on the court, or possibly over a tape 
four feet six inches high. I should know from 
where the ball pitched whether it was good or not, 
and he would learn to think of his angle, and not, 
as we all do, of the net, and the man at it, and it 
stands to reason that this thought influences our 
strokes most materially. As a matter of fact, 
many of us volley at — yes at — the net, or just to 
clear it. Is it any wonder we find it? 

You must remember also that good length is as 
important in a volley which you can not kill by 
pace or placing as it is in any other stroke. Above 
everything, do not get into the habit of patting 
your volleys. Always get a bit of pace on them 
if you can, and if you get a suitable chance, unless 
you can be certain to win by placing, ' ' put it out 
of sight' ' at once. 

Most writers will tell you that for volleying at 
the net when you see a forehand volley "looming 
up, ' ' you are to draw your right leg back and put 
your weight on it, turning your body slightly side- 
ways, and at the moment of striking make a slight 
step forward with the left foot, thus carrying out 
the general theory of all strokes. The theory is 
perfectly good when you have time for it, which 
you very often have not. 



44 MODERN TENNIS 

You must hold your racket firmly for the volley 
and meet the ball smartly with it. Do not leave 
the ball to attack the racket. The racket must 
commit the assault, otherwise there will be trouble. 
In only about one case may you allow the ball to 
do the work, and that is a shot seldom seen now. 
When standing right at the net, you may simply 
hold your racket stiffly in front of the ball, and by 
drawing it smartly back at the moment of the 
impact drop the ball almost dead over the net, but 
this stroke can be played practically as well, and 
possibly with more certainty by a cut volley, which 
I shall deal with later on. 



THE LOB-VOLLEY 

The lob-volley is one of the rarest strokes one 
sees played, but its usefulness can not be ques- 
tioned. It consists of meeting the ball with an 
underhand stroke before it has touched the ground 
and tossing it into the air in the endeavor to get 
over your opponent's head. You must endeavor 
particularly in this shot to strike the ball truly in 
the center of the racket, which must be gripped 
firmly ; and do not be afraid to toss it well up. If 
you try to play a low lob-volley, you run great risk 
of giving your opponent an easy kill. It lends it- 
self nicely to a backhand shot with plenty of cut. 
In any case, you must be careful in making this 
shot to let the ball bound, if I may so express it, 
on the racket; in other words, the face of the 
racket must be very nearly horizontal, otherwise 
you will put the. return into your opponent's 
hands. This volley, like all others, must be 
played ; you must not leave the racket to do it. 



45 



THE FOEEHAND OVERHEAD VOLLEY 

Neakly all writers deal with this under the name 
of ' ' The Smash, ' ' but as it is not always a smash, 
but quite as often merely an ordinary overhead 
volley, I prefer to treat of it under the above head- 
ing. 

This volley is practically similar to the service 
except that you are not fixt for the stroke before 
it goes up, and do not provide the material for 
your shot. Its general principles are identical, 
with the exception that you may, and often do, 
step onto your stroke, and when you make it 
severe enough it is a "smash." When practising 
smashing, it will be of the utmost benefit to the 
aspirant for tennis honors to find out, from the 
different points of the court, the varying heights 
at which his ball can pass over the net and yet 
land in the court. If you are earnest about your 
game, I would even suggest to you to strain a tape 
across at the point which cuts the line of flight 
of your ball at the net when smashed from the 
middle of the back court to the base-line. Then 
practise at this. It will not be waste time. 

In running back to bring off an overhead volley, 
the player should not merely try to reach the ball. 
It should be his aim to overrun it so as to be able 

46 



FOREHAND OVERHEAD VOLLEY 47 

to pull himself together, at least to poise himself, 
and come at the ball on the general principles laid 
down for service. He should, while waiting, have 
his weight well back on his right leg, his right 
shoulder low, and then at the critical moment put 
his body into his stroke. 

Let him, in this stroke, also get rid of the idea 
of hitting the ball down. If he finds this advice 
makes him drive it over the base-line, which he 
won't, he can modify his performance. 

The backhand overhead volley is a stroke you 
only take on when you are forced to, and does not 
call for much comment. Reverse the instructions 
for the forehand shot, and practise will do the rest. 

Some important points in smashing which 
should be remembered are : — 

1. Position of feet with weight on the toes in 
each foot as it is being transferred. 

2. Position of right leg, bent at knee, ready to 
propel body forward. 

3. Weight of body mainly on right leg. 

4. Head thrown back. 

5. Right shoulder well drooped. 

6. Balance by extended left arm with lightly 
clenched hand. 

7. Make the stroke an aggressive shot. 

The last is certainly not the least here, and 
should in smashing be the dominant idea. Deter- 
mination and confidence are essentials to good 
smashing, and good smashing is an essential to a 



48 MODEEN TENNIS 

really good game, and once you know how to do 
it, a little practise makes it so easy and pleasant — 
for yon. All the above are strong points in smash- 
ing, and if yon put them into practise you will 
smash quite well. 




Norman E. Brookes — Serving 

This shows Brookes in a characteristic position as he comes up 
to start his service. Notice his grip carefully. He will no1 gel 
to the side of his racket, and so sacrifice power and accuracy. 



Plate 9 



THE LOB 

This stroke as the staple of one's game is con- 
temptible. In its place it is a fine scientific shot, 
requiring far more skill, nerve, and delicacy of 
touch to play well than many a more showy stroke. 

It is a defensive shot, generally played to give 
one time or position, or both, and the beauty of a 
good lob is that the best man living must chase it 
and thus be dislodged from the net, or lose the 
ace. 

The Americans have a liking for high lobs. 
Theoretically, of course, every inch more than 
sufficient to clear your opponent's racket is waste 
energy, and gives more time for your opponent to 
get back to it and reply, but I would not advise 
cutting it too fine. It is hard to tell how high a 
man can jump, also you must allow a little margin 
for your possible want of accuracy. So long as 
you are tossing accurately enough to pass your 
opponent there can be little advantage in going in 
for high lobs, which some writers put into a special 
class. As a matter of fact, they are exactly the 
same gentlemen as those low fellows who just 
skim your rackets. The latter are of course faster, 
and therefore, when they come off, better. If you 
are tossing your lobs beyond the base-line, then I 
would say to you, put a bit of your strength into 

49 



50 MODEEN TENNIS 

height. It will sometimes correct your length, 
and in any case a dead-dropping ball is always 
harder to volley than one approaching you. You 
must not try a low lob unless your opponent is 
well in and threatening you. 

As in a lob-volley, this stroke must be played so 
that the racket comes well underneath the ball, so 
as to lift it clear of your opponent at the net. I do 
not suppose that it has occurred to many players 
to divide the distance of their lobs. A plain lob 
will, after it has ceased to ascend, descend in very 
much the same curve as that in which it has as- 
cended. It always seems to me that the object of 
a player in lobbing should be to divide his distance, 
if I may so express it, and to play for that point 
where he intends the ball to cease rising. I have 
tried this, and I believe it leads to increased 
accuracy in lobbing. 

In my next chapter on the lob, reference will be 
made to "cut lobs." It would certainly in theory 
be wrong to "divide the distance" for these, as 
they must fall straighter than a plain lob. About 
two-thirds of the distance to the point you want 
should do for a cut lob. 

Always lob to your opponent's backhand for 
preference, and you will find a low lob down the 
side-line a wonderful passing shot at times, as 
your opponent has to get right under it before 
he can reach it. This is a much-neglected and 
very valuable shot, 



THE FLIGHT OF THE BALL 

It has always been a matter of surprize to me 
that tennis-writers have never devoted any con- 
sideration to this most interesting subject. When 
a tennis-ball is struck by the racket, with the face 
of the racket at right angles to the intended line 
of flight of the ball and the racket following 
through truly, the ball departs on its journey to 
the point to which it was hit, with a minimum of 
rotation, and only approaches the earth by gradual 
descent as called upon by the immutable laws of 
nature, and on alighting it immediately bounds up 
again from the ground at almost the same angle 
as that at which it hit it. 

On the other hand, there are a great number of 
strokes played in tennis in which the ball is not 
struck fairly. The racket passes obliquely across 
the intended line of flight of the ball, and in doing 
so, the face of it comes into violent contact with 
the ball, "gripping," or entering into frictional 
engagement with the cover of it, and "brush- 
ing" it round as it leaves the face of the 
racket. There are many ways of doing this, but 
there are, I think, four primary rotary motions 
which may be imparted to the tennis ball, the 
North, South, East and West of rotation, and all 

51 



52 MODEEN TENNIS 

others, it seems to me, are a combination of some 
two, or a modification of some one, of these. The 
principal strokes which produce these motions, 
and the results of these strokes are as follows : — 

I. There is the overhead forehand cut service, 
which imparts to the ball horizontal rotation from 
right to left. Nearly the same rotation is impart- 
ed by the very rare and practically obsolete under- 
hand backhand service. 

II. There is the reverse overhead service, which 
imparts horizontal rotation from left to right. 
The ordinary fore-underhand cut service produces 
almost the same rotation. 

III. There is the drive with upward lift, which 
imparts vertical forwardly rotating motion to the 
ball. 

IV. There is the chop, which imparts vertical 
backwardly rotating motion to the ball. 

I am, of course, taking the direction of the rota- 
tion from the time and point of contact of the ball 
with the racket. 

Now all these spins and many varieties of 
them produce quite distinct flights, a matter which 
must be carefully studied and mastered by him 
who would excel beyond ordinary men. 

I shall later on deal specifically with each stroke, 
and shall endeavor to interweave into each chapter 
such information on the flight of the ball, and its 
conduct on landing, as in each case I may deem 
desirable. 




Norman E. Brookes Serving 

Brookes' service is not so spectacular as McLoughlin's, but 

those who saw the memorable IT- 15 sel at the recenl i>a\is 
Cup meeting know how effective it Is. 



Plate 10 



THE FLIGHT OF BALL 53 

I may mention here that in the Messrs. Do- 
hertys ' recent work on Tennis, in dealing with the 
American services, which are exaggerations of 
our reverse overhead service, or a combination of 
some two, or a modification of some one, of the 
four primary rotary motions, the authors say that 
"the ball travels on the racket itself from the 
wood at one side right to the wood at the other 
side. ,, This, I have little hesitation in saying, is 
quite inaccurate, for it is, in all services, the al- 
most momentary impact of the racket upon the 
ball which imparts to the latter its rotation, and 
in every effective service or stroke, it follows as 
a matter of almost elementary theory that you 
should strike the ball with, or as near as possible 
to, the center of the racket. I mention this matter 
here as it is of the utmost importance that players 
thoroughly grasp the correct theory of producing 
the rotation of the ball. Unless this be done the 
result will be disastrous, and if Messrs. Dohertys' 
statement is correct, it opens up a wide field for 
new and startling theories. 

Second only in importance, if, indeed, it is sec- 
ond, to the oft and properly repeated charge im- 
prest upon players by Messrs. Doherty, "Keep 
your eye on the ball," is "Hit the ball with the 
center of your racket"; but if the Americans can 
get such good results by hitting the ball with the 
short dead strings at the side of the racket, why 
then should we. not use them for our forehand serv- 



54 MODEEN TENNIS 

ice, if not indeed for general play where rotation 
of the ball is desired? I am always trying to 
learn, always looking for that which is good and 
new, or interesting, and which tends to improve 
the game, bnt I mnst confess that I can not here 
see anything to tempt me to further research or 
experiment. 

One might also be pardoned for asking if, after 
the moment of impact at the one side of the racket, 
the ball remains on the racket until it gets " right 
to the wood at the other side," what then induces 
it to depart on its mission in life before the wood 
hits it and destroys the usefulness of the stroke? 



STROKES — CLASS II 

SERVICE 

All the general rules laid down for the simple 
service and strokes apply with equal force to the 
more advanced methods of service and striking 
the ball, which I am now about to deal with, with 
this exception, that as the stroke is a glancing 
blow it stands to reason that your " follow 
through'' — if it may be so called — is not in a line 
with the flight of the ball. 

Taking them in the order mentioned, I have to 
deal with the forehand overhead cut service. This 
is a very useful variation. Fig. 8 will show the 
manner in which the ball is struck to produce the 
rotation. The ball is thrown up in the usual way 
(altho afterward, when you become more expert 
and want to accentuate the spin, you throw it up 
further away from you at the same elevation, and 
in a line with your right shoulder a little in front), 
and struck a glancing blow, as shown in Fig. 
8, which is a plan — that is, you are looking down 
from above the court on top of the racket. 

This cut imparts a considerable rotation from 
right to left, A to B, which causes the ball to 
curl in the air from right to left, and when it 
strikes the ground to keep very low, and break 

55 



56 



MODEEN TENNIS 



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Norman E. Brookes Serving 

This plate shows the ball on the racket. Brookes docs qoI 
generally gel the ball until he lias gone right up to the full 

extent of his reach as shown here. This produces forehand cut. 



Plate 11 



SERVICE 57 

away from right to left, C to D. The amount of 
' ' work' ' on the ball makes it very difficult to return 
accurately. It pitches frequently on the side-line 
at C close in under the highest part of the net, 
and drives your opponent right off the court to D. 
It must not be forgotten, however, that if you 
indulge in this form of it too often, you let him 
get close up to the net, but it is a fine variation, 
after having worked him to the middle of the 
court, to whip one of these across. 

If the wind happens to be blowing across the 
court from right to left (I am speaking from 
the server's position), one can borrow greatly 
from the opposing player's backhand court when 
serving, as the amount of curl which can be put on 
this service then is astonishing. It is the same 
with a golf balL Hit it ' ' clean and true, ' ' and you 
can drive it into the teeth of a gale. Slice it, and 
the wind grips it and carries it right away. 

The reverse overhead cut service, which is a 
most valuable delivery, is, as its name expresses, 
practically the reverse of that just described. It 
has a deceptive flight and break, keeps low and 
drives the striker-out off the court. It is played 
as shown in Fig. 9, the racket, A B, traveling 
obliquely across the ball from right to left in the 
line C D, and imparting horizontal left to right 
rotation E F. 

Practically the same rotation as that on an or- 
dinary reverse service is imparted by the forehand 



58 MODERN TENNIS 

underhand cut service, wliich is by no means a 
despicable change, especially when one is serving 
against a troublesome sun. 

The backhand underhand cut service is almost 
obsolete, so I shall not waste time referring to it. 
Sometimes a man worries a lady in a mixed double 
with it. 

The ordinary underhand cut service is pro- 
duced by dropping the ball, and bringing the 
racket smartly across it with that "brushing" 
motion (I can not find a better word) from right 
to left, which imparts to it a horizontal rotation 
from left to right, causing it to break from left to 
right. I am speaking as the server now. See 
Fig. 10. 

The Americans have another service which they 
deliver by throwing the ball up well over the left 
shoulder or beyond. They then bend themselves 
over toward the left and strike the ball with a 
glancing upward stroke, which imparts vertical 
f orwardly rotating action with sometimes a slight 
admixture of right to left horizontal spin. The 
result is a most peculiar bound which takes you a 
little while to analyze. They almost hit from 
under the ball. This service, well executed, pro- 
duces really — if you can understand what I mean 
— the same rotation and flight as a lifting drive, 
only it proceeds through the air as tho the drive 
were lying over at an angle of say 45 degrees. 
The ball curves in the air to the right of the 



SERVICE 



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62 MODERN TENNIS 

striker-out. Generally speaking, it would break 
that way. It does not: it breaks to his left. I 
shall try to show you the action in Fig. 11, altho 
you must understand that the ball is rotating 
and proceeding through the air at, say, an angle 
of 45 degrees to the ground. 

This is a most difficult stroke to explain ver- 
bally, but as it is rather a rare service I must try. 
In Fig. 14 I have shown the peculiar action of the 
flight of the lifting drive. Now you must look at 
Fig. 12 and think that you are standing right be- 
hind the stand A, which is on your base-line, and 
that- you are facing down the court toward the 
other base-line. If you hit the ball B which re- 
volves on the axis C D with the stroke for the 
lifting drive, you will make it revolve from E to 
F, that is with vertical forwardly rotating action. 
Consider the stand hinged at A. Push it down to 
an angle of 45 degrees as shown by the dotted 
stand. The ball has still the rotation of the lift in 
a forehand drive, but is rotating at an angle of 45 
degrees to the ground instead of vertically. This 
accounts naturally for its peculiar bound which at 
first glance might seem unnatural. Now put your 
American, Gr, under the ball to show his service. 
Stop it revolving. See, he is going to hit upward, 
and his racket will pass across the ball as shown 
by the curve H I. It is really an overhead lifting 
volley. It is somewhat hard to explain, but I 
think you will be able to get it. It is lift or for- 



SERVICE 



63 



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64 MODEBN TENNIS 

ward rotatory motion produced by an overhead 
shot instead of an underhand one. 

It is the lifting drive played as a volley over- 
head. Let it not be forgotten that this service 
may also be served by throwing the ball up on the 
forehand side, and hitting it upward in a similar 
manner. I fancy this will prove a novelty for 
most players, and I have not seen it much used in 
America, but it is nearly as valuable as the other. 
See K, Fig. 12. The peculiarity of this latter 
service is that you almost face the net to deliver 
it. 

In addition to this, the ball may be served with 
a ' ' chop ' ' or downward cut which imparts vertical 
backwardly rotating spin to it, and causes it to 
keep very close to the ground after it has struck. 
A command of these deliveries gives one a great 
advantage in serving, for it enables one to vary 
one's pace, place, break, and length in a most puz- 
zling manner, and it must be remembered that 
ability to do this is of the highest importance. 
The service of many of our leading players is 
much too stereotyped. Altho the cut generally 
detracts somewhat from the pace and length of a 
service, it gives, I think, greater command of the 
ball and accuracy in placing, and with some of 
them gives you more time to follow up ; moreover, 
the work on the ball, especially if your opponent 
attempts to play it too soon, will render his return 
less accurate than off a plain ball. In returning 










Noeman E. Brookes — Seevinq 
Brookes produces his service in a singularly effortless manner. 
lie varies his forehand cut with top, and conceals the character 
of his delivery most cleverly. 

Plate L2 



SERVICE 65 

these services they must be distinctly hit; you 
must not let them hit the racket when the work 
on them is proceeding vigorously. If you do, you 
will find the ball gripping your racket and curling 
off. You must do the striking, and do it with a 
very firm wrist. 

I do not wish you to run away with the idea that 
all these rotary motions should be inflicted upon 
the ball without provocation. As a matter of fact 
I consider, that as in billiards, so in tennis, "side" 
— to use the billiard term — should only be im- 
parted to the ball when the stroke calls for it, and 
you have a definite object in so doing. I know 
several very fine players who use a plain-face 
racket most of the time, but notwithstanding this 
fact, the importance of a proper understanding 
and command of the strokes which produce rota- 
tion can not be overestimated. 



THE FOEEHAND DRIVE 

No. Ill, I have called the drive with upward 
lift, which imparts vertical forwardly rotating 
spin to the ball. This action which produces the 
spin, and the spin itself, have been called a variety 
of names. The spin has been called "drop," 
"top," "roll," "rib," "lift," "loft," "up rib," 
"up lift," and so on in different parts of the 
world. It might, I think, quite accurately be 
called "uppercut," but I shall herein call it "lift." 

In this stroke, the racket A B passes forwardly 
and upwardly in an oblique direction across the 
intended line of flight of the ball, as shown in Fig. 
13, brushing violently against the ball as it passes 
at G. It is played to a great extent as a kind of 
half -arm shot, that is to say, that the arm above 
the elbow does not enter into the shot so much 
as the forearm, which brings the racket up with a 
sharp brushing motion across the ball and on 
upward and forward. 

It will be seen at a glance that immediately the 
racket hits the ball at G, it gets a grip on it, and 
sends it away rotating from G to E, that is, for- 
wardly and downwardly. 

This stroke is unquestionably the most valuable 
ground-stroke in modern tennis, and a correct 

66 



THE FOEEHAND DKIVE 



67 




68 MODERN TENNIS 

appreciation of its manifold merits is of the 
greatest importance to the wonld-be champion, or 
indeed to any one who intends to enjoy the game. 
The peculiarity of the flight of this particular 
shot is, that while the initial velocity of the stroke 
is on, the ball springs away rapidly, and in many 
cases you would count that it was going easily out 
of the court, when suddenly, the initial force being 
spent, the downward rotation asserts itself, and it 
dives like a shot bird for the base-line, and is con- 
verted into a fine-length ball that takes you by 
surprize. I give in Fig. 14 a diagram of the flight 
and bound of this ball. 

Some Americans get a great amount of lift 
on their strokes, and many a time have I been 
deceived into considering a ball well out of court 
and letting it go, only to see the lift assert itself 
and the ball pounce down in the court by the base- 
line. This flight is most deceptive, even to those 
who are accustomed to it, and unless you train 
yourself to watch the way the ball is struck by the 
racket, and to consider what it is doing in the air 
as it comes to you — a point of the utmost impor- 
tance, yet hitherto scarcely treated of — you will 
be deceived as I have been, and as I have seen 
the Americans — altho they are accustomed to the 
stroke — time and again. In all diagrams I de- 
signedly show the face of the racket tilted back- 
ward more than it, generally speaking, should be 
at the moment of impact. This is a good idea to 




Norman E. Brookes Serving 

Ilere is shown the finish of Brookes' service, ilis command of 
pace and placing is unquestionably very remarkable, 



Plate .13 



THE FOREHAND DRIVE 



69 



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70 MODERN TENNIS 

start with, for the commonest fault in this stroke 
is to tilt the racket forward too soon, instead of 
having it at the moment of impact practically 
vertical. 

Another great virtue in this shot is, that by 
reason of its quick-dropping habit, it is a fine 
passing shot. Well played, it comes over the net 
and dives for the volleyer's feet, when he is ex- 
pecting quite another foot of length, and then it is 
a terribly awkward ball from which to make an 
effective return. Still another and by no means 
an unimportant virtue that it possesses, is that it 
is a natural climber. The moment it hits the net 
it grips it, and starts climbing for all it is worth, 
and I have seen balls with lots of lift climbing 
inches. You will recognize in a moment from Fig. 
15 that this is so. This faculty is not possest in a 
similar degree by any other ball, and when a man 
has his day of " hitting the duck," it is not to be 
despised. On the other hand, a back-cut ball pro- 
ceeds to roll down directly it grips the net, as 
shown in Fig. 16. 

According to all generally accepted ideas, one 
would expect the forehand drive with lift from its 
rotation to grip the ground and spring suddenly 
and sharply forward with much accentuated pace, 
but this is not usually so. The sudden descent 
which it makes when the initial force of the drive 
is spent, allows it to get up and be played without 
difficulty, except occasionally, when you get a very 






THE FOREHAND DRIVE 



71 





Figure 15 
Showing How Lift Climbs Up the 

Net 



Figure 16 

Showing How Cut or Chop Tries to 

Roll Down the Net 



72 MODEEN TENNIS 

hot one. The obvious reply is a similar drive 
(for that grips and checks the rotary action which 
is already on the ball), or a plain-face return. If, 
however, you should intend to "chop" it, you 
must remember that it has already on it that spin 
which you intend to produce, and that the effect 
of your shot will be to accentuate such spin, and, 
if you play the ball at an ordinary elevation, to 
make the return fly higher than you intended. In 
any case where you are accentuating the rotation 
this must be borne in mind. Fig. 17 explains this. 

You may remember that in this matter of rota- 
tion it is a question of "Like answers like," that 
is, a forehand drive with top meets and checks 
pure top spin (see Fig. 18) and likewise a back 
or downward cut stops the backward rotary 
action on a similar ball, and for this reason it 
always seems to me that when replying in this 
manner to these shots, they may, perhaps, be 
treated more vigorously than if you are playing 
them with a plain face, for there is always the 
upward striving of the front of the ball (which 
infallibly takes place the moment the ball grips 
your racket) for you to "come and go on" and 
to overcome by your lifting drive; and vice versa 
in a chopped ball. 

The prime merit of the lifting drive lies in the 
fact that by means of it you are enabled to hit the 
ball much harder, and yet keep it within the court, 
than you can do with a plain-face stroke. Also, 




Anthony l\ Wilding Serving 

Wilding stands very far behind tin- line when serving. Notice 
the position of the rackel and arm with the elbow high up. 



Plate i I 



THE FOREHAND DRIVE 



73 



<9- 



W 



. c 



<9 



74 MODERN TENNIS 

with a good command of this stroke you can keep 
a fine length, and generally, owing to the sudden 
curvature of its flight at the end — except in very 
fast balls, when it is not so apparent — the return 
has a good bound and so keeps your opponent well 
back. 
The theory of this stroke, and, indeed, the 




Figure 18 

Lift to Lift Checks Rotation. Initial Rotation Shown by 

Arrow Outside Ball — Rotation After Stroke by 

Arrow Inside 

practise, when once the theory is thoroughly 
grasped, are so simple and yet valuable, that it is 
a wonder that more stress has not been laid upon 
them. I have seen youths vainly cleaving the air 
with frantic energy, who, when I have asked them 
for what they strove, were at a loss to explain. 

I shall give here a diagram which shows very 
clearly the principle (Fig. 19), and shall suggest a 
means whereby the practise may be acquired. If 
you can not get a friend to practise shots with you 
— and I must admit it is hard to find any one with 
energy and intelligence enough in these degener- 
ate days to practise their scales thoroughly before 
they " start right in on Wagner" — you must try 



THE FOREHAND DRIVE 



75 



to get a blank wall with a piece of smooth ground 
or asphalt in front of it. Mark upon this wall a 
line H, say three feet high. Hit your ball against 



i / 



ri 




Figure 19 
Showing How the Principle of the Lifting Drive May be 

Learned 



the wall at F, and when it has struck the 
ground at I, risen to the top of its bound J, and is 
beginning to fall (later on you may attack it 
earlier), "brush" your racket A B against its 
face, moving it sharply up in the line G D as shown 



76 MODEEN TENNIS 

in Fig. 19, hitting the ball as near the center C of 
your racket A B as you can. In this case you will 
see that the face of the racket is inclined back at 
an angle from A to B. As the ball drops and 
your racket travels smartly up they meet at C. 
Instantly the downward flight of the ball is ar- 
rested at C, but continues at the opposite side E, 
and at the same moment your racket has gripped 
and rapidly pushed up the side of the ball at C, 
and passed on, imparting vertical forward rotary 
action (about a horizontal axis), in other words, 
top spin, to the ball from C to E. 

At first the ball will merely receive a little spin, 
go forward a few feet, and drop. As, however, 
you get the idea into your head, you will alter the 
angle of the face of the racket to suit the flight of 
the ball, and the distance you wish it to carry, 
and will gradually make your stroke, instead of 
a perpendicular " brush' ' upward, go more 
through your shot at an angle approaching that 
from A to F. Very soon afterward you will dis- 
cover that you can improve this shot with a bit of 
what is commonly called wrist-work, which will 
come quite naturally. This, however, is not true 
wrist-work. It comes mainly from the forearm 
roll and the elbow, except in the case of the full 
arm drive, when it is pure upward sweep across 
the ball. 

So many players make this shot in different 
ways, that I can not lay down any hard and fast 




Anthony F. Wilding— Serving 

Observe the angle of the face <>f the rackel and how Wilding 
is throwing bis whole weighl ini<> the stroke. 



Plate 1J 



THE FOEEHAND DRIVE 77 

rules as to the exact angle at which the blade of 
the racket must be held. That depends on so 
many things — the bound of the ball, the work that 
is on it, whether you do much wrist-work or not, 
the height at which you play it, and quite a few 
other things. I must content myself with show- 
ing you how to get the stroke, and must leave you 
to adjust your own angles and the amount of for- 
ward motion you put into your shot. 

The same rotation may be obtained by pure lift 
on a straight underhand shot played from beside 
the right foot, but it requires very accurate timing 
and moreover possesses no advantage over the 
shot above described. 

There is another forehand drive that is a very 
useful shot, particularly if you are cramped for 
room. This is a kind of cross between the spin 
imparted by the fore-underhand cut service and 
that of the lifting drive, and is obtained by bring- 
ing the racket, with swing as for the forehand 
plain drive, between the right leg and the line of 
flight of the ball, instead of, as in the ordinary 
drive, hitting the ball at the back with a tendency 
toward the side farther from you. The stroke is 
played by bringing the face of the racket across 
the ball at, as nearly as I can say, an angle of 
forty-five degrees, so that the shot imparts a little 
of both "cat" and "lift" to the ball, which in its 
flight has the distinctive final "dive" of the lifted 
ball, and on account of the cross "cut" (similar 



78 MODEBN TENNIS 

to the underhand service) frequently after hitting 
the ground keeps low. It is distinctly a useful 
and, when well played, by no means ungraceful 
shot. It is not, however, much used by those who 
have the lifting drive, and possesses few, if any, 
advantages over that shot. The sister stroke to 
this, namely, the pulled drive, is so rarely used 
that it may be regarded as a negligible quantity. 
It is obtained by swinging out across the ball, 
taking it low. This puts modified top on the ball, 
makes it keep low and dive sharply across court. 
This is, probably, the rarest stroke in tennis. 

I have not so far dealt specifically with the 
drive in which the ball is taken at the top of the 
bound, altho, of course, the lifting drive may be 
quite conveniently used for this stroke. Some- 
times it is played with a plain face, and then it is 
almost a horizontal sweep with a clean follow 
through, the lower side of the blade of the racket 
being, if anything, a little above the hand. Quite 
a logical pursuance, if I may use the word, of this 
stroke is the drive off a rising ball, which I feel 
confident will in the near future play an important 
part in the game. In this stroke it is of the 
utmost importance that the nature of the flight of 
the ball be considered, and a due appreciation be 
had of the angle at which the face of the racket 
should be held. This will be apparent from a 
study of Figs. 20 .and 21. 

It must be remembered that, generally speak- 



THE FOREHAND DRIVE 



79 




-' c 



Figure 20 
Showing Error of Plating Eising Ball with Vertical Face 




Figure 21 

Showing Face of Eacket Inclining Forward to Correct Eising 

Tendency of Ball in Interrupted Bound B C 



ing, apart from any adventitious aids to the ball, 
the angles of incidence and reflection are the same ; 
in other words, a ball, provided it has no spin or 
work, will rebound from a wall or the ground, or 
the face of the racket held still and firmly, at 
almost exactly the same angle as that at which it 
hits it. In playing at a rising ball, many players 
forget this, and do not so use the blade of the 
racket as to counteract the upward tendency of 
the ball. For instance, in Fig. 20, the ball pitches 
from A to B and strikes the ground at B. It im- 



80 MODEEN TENNIS 

mediately bounds off at the same angle, and strives 
to follow the course B C before it commences to 
drop. If then it be met at F with a vertical racket 
E D, as is so often done, it will unquestionably 
endeavor to fly off the face at the natural angle 
F GL This tendency is certainly checked consider- 
ably by the impact of the racket, but it is there 
nevertheless, and must and will assert itself 
in however small a degree. To correct this, the 
blade of the racket must in playing all lifted or 
plain rising balls, especially balls with much pace 
on them, be inclined forward as at E D, Fig. 21, 
to counteract this upward tendency and produce 
the flight F Gr. In attacking all rising balls, this 
idea should be firmly kept in mind, and once the 
mechanical principle involved is grasped, I believe 
that all players will deal with a rising ball with 
much greater confidence and certainty than they 
do now. 

Few, if any, players have thoroughly grasped 
this principle. So strong is this upward tendency 
that if the ball be rising fast, and is fairly high, 
it can be played in an almost unreturnable manner 
with forehand lift or top, which hits the ball with 
almost a horizontal sweep at that portion which 
lies half-way between the points F and H, and, if 
anything, sometimes a little further forward, 
especially if the ball be near the net. 

I have never seen a player deliberately attempt 
to use the lifting stroke for a lob, but I am certain 




Anthony F. Wilding — Serving 

Wilding lias now played his stroke. The i>all is seen in flight 
and Wilding's racket goes on upward, above where he struck 
the ball, thus producing top or the American service. 



Plate 16 



THE FOREHAND DRIVE 81 

"it is there"* nevertheless, for of course the 
mechanical principles of such a lob and a drive 
are exactly similar, and I have seen so many fine 
fast deceptive lobs played off this stroke by mis- 
hits, or through exaggerated lift, that I could not 
but be struck by its possibilities in the hands of 
a skilful exponent. 



* A year after this was written I saw M. Paul de Borman, 
whose excessive lift is well known, play this stroke at Wimble- 
don, and he told me that he had used it very effectively in 
mixed doubles. It is not, however, worthy of special culti- 
vation. 



THE BACKHAND DEIVE 

Peactically all the general principles laid down 
with reference to the forehand lifting drive are 
applicable to the backhand. The horizontal shot 
on the backhand is one of the very finest strokes I 
know, and has the advantage that when you have 
mastered it you can make an effective return of a 
ball which would be unreturnable, or returnable 
only by an ineffective shot, in any other way. The 
shot I have in my mind is when you are caught out 
of position by a ball coming straight at your 
middle. Your thumb is up the back of the handle 
and your racket practically horizontal, as with a 
half -swing of your body, and, of course, transfer- 
ring your weight from your left leg to your right, 
you draw the racket smartly across in front of 
you, and upward and forward at the same time, 
producing a fine, unexpected return. Some of the 
Australian players are very good at this shot, but 
naturally it is more effective when played at a 
proper distance from the ball. 

You will perhaps ask what is a proper distance. 
That I can hardly tell you, but this general rule 
will do, I think. You should never be so far from 
the ball as to feel that you have to make the least 
undue effort to step into its line of flight suffi- 
ciently to reach it easily ; and as to the position of 

82 



THE BACKHAND DRIVE 83 

your arms, my invariable rule at tennis or any- 
thing else is to get as close to my work as possible 
without cramping, and whether in volleying or 
driving to be as compact as I can. Have nothing 
floating about loosely. Every muscle is, or should 
be, doing its appointed work as yoiv play. Even 
the despised left arm, whose tennis-muscle is 
generally so sadly lacking, has other functions 
than throwing up the ball for the service and 
helping to sustain the weight of the racket between 
strokes. All the time you will find that as your 
right arm does anything his sinister brother is 
closely attending, sympathizing, and balancing; 
and if he isn't, it's your fault, not his. The dis- 
engaged hand should never be dangling. It should 
always be lightly clenched and under full control, 
as shown in my photographs of the backhand 
stroke. 

The rule as to position of the feet is, of course, 
of as much importance here as in the ordinary 
plain-face returns. 

Now and again you will be caught out of position 
and have to make your return as best you may, 
but you must always remember the importance of 
playing the shot in correct position when you can. 

There is one peculiarity about the backhand 
stroke. That is, that you can play a lifting drive 
with a vertical stroke with far more certainty than 
is possible with a forehand shot. There is some- 
thing in the action of the arm as it is drawn up 



84 MODEEN TENNIS 

across the body which seems to lend itself to the 
shot, and, played with a free swing and a clean 
follow-through, it is a most beautiful and effective 
stroke. The ball must be struck well before it is in 
line with the body. The head of the racket hangs 
toward the ground, and the hand right above it is 
traveling rapidly forward and obliquely upward 
as the racket encounters the ball. At the moment 
of impact with the ball the face of the racket is 
almost vertical, and when the stroke is finished, 
the racket is pointing high up in front of the right 
shoulder. I speak here of the drive off the low 
ball. The photographs explain clearly the action 
for low, medium, and high returns. 

In both this stroke and the forehand drive there 
is, in the shot of most players, a considerable 
amount of " wrist- wo rk" which imparts pace to 
the racket as it' travels across the ball, and so 
adds materially to the amount of lift or top im- 
parted to a return. This, however, as mentioned 
before, will come almost naturally when once you 
have learned the theory of the stroke and have fol- 
lowed it up assiduously on the court or against a 
wall. 

This is not true wrist-work. It is mainly de- 
rived from the turning of the forearm. The dan- 
ger of calling it " wrist-work' ' lies in the fact that 
it induces many to put the turn over onto the 
racket too soon, which generally results in netting 
the return. 



THE BACKHAND DEIVE 85 

The backhand drive in tennis is not adequately 
described in any book on the game, nor has it ever 
been fully and properly described in any paper 
or periodical. There are reasons for this omis- 
sion by authors who have dealt with the game, 
the principal of these being, perhaps, the difficulty 
of obtaining suitable illustrations. These, so far 
as I am aware, do not exist apart from the series 
illustrating this book. Indeed, it is a matter of 
extreme difficulty to obtain good and instructive 
photographs of this beautiful and effective stroke. 

The backhand tennis drive is to all intents and 
purposes a lost art. I have played tennis for 
twenty years. I have seen all the great modern 
players, and I have no hesitation in saying that 
the backhand stroke to-day is much poorer than 
it was when I first played the game. 

The main reason for this is the introduction of 
the hold of the racket now commonly used in Eng- 
land. In that country they have followed the 
methods of the Doherty brothers, who used prac- 
tically an unchanged grip. The late E. F. Doherty 
did indeed move his thumb a little for his hold 
in making the backhand drive, but in effect both 
he and H. L. Doherty used the unchanged grip, 
and the vast army of players in England who 
have followed their methods have adopted what 
is practically an unchanged grip; that is, they 
play the backhand stroke without changing the 
grip which they use in making the forehand stroke. 



86 MODEEN TENNIS 

This, of course, necessitates producing the back- 
hand stroke with the back of the hand toward the 
ball, as shown in the photograph of the English 
backhand. 

It is in this respect that the English backhand 
hold is so very defective, for at the moment of 
impact the back of the wrist is presented to the 
net. This is absolutely fatal so far as regards 
obtaining command of the ball or power, and, 
moreover, it generally resolves itself into a weak 
undercut return of a purely defensive character, 
instead of being, as is the genuine backhand drive, 
a fine offensive winning shot, a forcing and 
strategic stroke of the highest value. 

It is not, of course, absolutely necessary to 
undercut the backhand with this hold. E. F. 
Doherty did not undercut his backhand. H. L. 
Doherty undercut his a good deal. Andre Gobert 
does not undercut his backhand, nor does Wilding, 
but those who use this hold always finish across 
the drive instead of going out after it as in the 
true stroke. 

The Plates show the proper backhand grip. 
Here it will be seen that the arm and the racket- 
handle are almost in the same straight line; in- 
deed, as we look at them in the pictures, they are 
practically in the same straight line, which is what 
I mean when I say they must be in the same plane 
of force. 

This plane of force is so important that I must 



THE BACKHAND DRIVE 87 

make it a little clearer. If one is chopping wood 
with a tomahawk, at the moment the wood is 
struck one's arm and the handle of the tomahawk 
are not in the same line, but they are moving in the 
same plane. So it must always be with the per- 
fectly produced backhand stroke of any kind. 
The principle is invariable. The picture of Nor- 
man Brookes playing a backhand stroke is a great 
object-lesson in this respect, either for ground- 
strokes or volleying. 

A question that is frequently asked is, "Which 
side of the racket should one use for the backhand 
stroke !" and another favorite interrogation is, 
"Do you use the same side of the racket for both 
strokes!" 

The compound answer to these questions is that 
it does not matter which side of the racket is used 
for the backhand stroke, but that one should use 
the same side of the racket as that used for play- 
ing the forehand stroke, when one is compelled to 
change from the forehand to the backhand grip 
to play the shot. 

It is obvious that if one is allowed to take up 
one's position, ready for a backhand return, it 
does not matter which side of the racket the ball 
rebounds from or is struck by, except possibly 
that some rackets may have a trifle more "send" 
in them on the forehand driving side. This, how- 
ever, is a matter of such fine distinction that we 
need not concern ourselves with it. 



88 MODEEN TENNIS 

That which is of great importance, then, so far 
as regards the playing-f ace of the racket on the 
backhand, is not, " Which side of the racket shall 
I use?" but, "How am I to arrive at the side to 
useT' 

In the proper backhand stroke the same side of 
the racket is used as is employed in the forehand 
stroke. The reason for this is simple when ex- 
plained, yet it has not so far appeared in any book 
on the game. The natural finish of the forehand 
stroke rolls the racket over in such a way that if 
one desires, as one frequently does, to change to 
the backhand grip, it is done with ease, and with 
but little practise, almost automatically, whereas, 
if one intends to play the backhand stroke with 
the proper grip, but with the opposite side of the 
racket to that used for the forehand stroke, it is 
necessary to arrest the follow-through and prac- 
tically to "jump" one's change of grip, especially 
if the return has been quick. 

In the English game, on account of the defective 
grip, the ball is naturally played with opposite 
sides of the racket and the grip is practically un- 
changed. Tennis can not properly be played 
thus. England will have to realize this before she 
regains her position in the tennis world. 

In 1904, I showed, when the Doherty brothers 
were at the height of their fame and winning 
everything from everybody, including the Ameri- 
cans, that this method of stroke-production in- 




A.vNio.w I' 1 . Wilding Serving 

This is a \ ei \ characteristic bnish ci Wildings serv 
is into bis stride for the net. Notice thai the finish of h 
is backward. 



'. He 

stroke 



Plate 17 



THE BACKHAND DEIVE 89 

troduced by them was unsound and was bound to 
end in disaster for the nation or body of players 
which followed it. 

I maintained, as I still do, that this stroke is 
unnatural and that it is unsuitable for at least 
ninety-five of every hundred players. 

The Dohertys were two great players and their 
success justified their methods in so far as they 
were personally concerned, but it is a fact of over- 
whelming significance that England has not pro- 
duced any player, fit to compare with the Do- 
hertys, who uses the hold of the racket introduced 
and used with such conspicuous success by them. 

In the English hold the player is applying his 
force at the side of the racket instead of from 
behind it. 

I must give a very simple illustration of what a 
loss of power there is in this English grip. If one 
desired to push a railway-truck along the rails the 
natural way would be to get between the rails and 
push in a line with them, down the middle of the 
track. Any one without much knowledge of me- 
chanics would think it strange to see one standing 
outside the rails and applying his shoulder to a 
corner of the truck in an endeavor to propel it, 
altho this method, for various reasons, including 
safety, is not unpopular among those who have to 
do this work. 

In this way he is losing much of his force, for 
his power is not directly applied. There is too 



90 MODEEN TENNIS 

great a ' ' component of waste, ' ' as I have heard it 
described. 

Now it is precisely this component of waste 
energy which has put the English players in the 
background, as I prophesied would be the case 
when they were carrying all before them. 

I can not emphasize this too much, for the Eng- 
lish are a stubborn race and can not learn, at 
least in sport, except by disaster. 

This disaster has overtaken them in the world 
of tennis, but not before they have done incal- 
culable harm to the game. 

It is easy to be wise after the event. In this 
case I anticipated it by several years, and I am 
using it now to warn players in America and the 
newer lands, such as Australia, Canada, and New 
Zealand, not to be led away by false methods. I 
am afraid they are too deeply ingrained in most 
of the Continental players for my teaching to have 
much effect for some time. As it is now, even 
the foremost exponents of the English strokes 
fail when set a severe test. 

Andre Gobert, the brilliant young French 
player, has as good a backhand of the Doherty 
type as one may wish to see, but I have seen it 
crack up and go to pieces under the force of A. 
W. Gore's fine forehand drive. It simply had not 
the force to withstand the pounding it got. The 
component of waste was too large. 

A curious side-light on the inefficient English 



THE BACKHAND DEIVE 91 

strokes is supplied by the women players. They 
do not use the same strokes as the men. They have 
not the strength to waste. The man is stronger 
and he is able to bring off his stroke in a tolerable 
manner by his fanlty method, but the component 
of waste will always find him out in a long match 
against an opponent who uses correct methods. 
Every time he hits the ball he gets hit himself in 
a way that does not come to the man who gets 
inside the rails and pushes down the middle of 
the track. For him there is no waste force. Let 
us look at this hold and see what it means. 

I am showing in this book the proper way to 
hold a racket for the backhand drive. There is 
no other correct way; but these holds are not 
known as they should be, yet they are of the 
greatest importance to the game of every player. 

I receive a great number of inquiries from 
divers parts of the world about how to hold the 
racket properly for the backhand stroke. I was 
under the impression that I had set this out so 
clearly in my books that one could not fail to 
understand, but it is beyond doubt that many 
people find it hard to learn from a picture. That 
is why I have shown the backhand drive with such 
thoroughness in this book. 

Wherever I go throughout the world I am asked : 
"How do you hold your racket for your backhand 
stroke V and this is the usual experience of nearly 
every tournament player. 



92 MODEBN TENNIS 

Now I can not personally show players in Texas, 
New Zealand, and England how to hold their 
rackets, bnt I can do something that is quite as 
good. I have had the correct grips, both forehand 
and backhand, modeled and any player or would- 
be player, or any tennis-club in the world, can 
have the two backhand grips and the forehand grip 
as permanent lessons in the foundation of the 
game. 

I intend to circulate them as largely as I can 
in England in an attempt to restore to players 
there the proper tennis-strokes. 

There is a fundamental rule in all games or 
athletic sports which are played with a ball and 
a striking implement that is absolutely violated 
by the prevalent method of playing the backhand 
stroke. 

This is, that at the moment of striking, the shaft 
or handle and the forearm shall be in the same 
line, or at least in the same plane of force, if I 
may use this expression. 

The fact is that to avoid waste of energy power 
must be exerted in one line or in one plane. 

This is what happens in the backhand drive 
advocated by me, where the racket is never at the 
moment of striking in line with the forearm, but 
is always, in a properly executed stroke, in the 
same plane of force. 

We must now consider the stroke itself. 

Plate 30 shows the swing-back in the low back- 




K. \. Williams 2d Serving 

This is .-in ideal position for serving. Notice < 
on right leg and borne on toes, bend of righl knee 
down, left up, position of the feci and the balan 
These things give Williams his greal pace, 

N ltional Champion. 1914 



•efully weight 

•ighl shoulder 

..r the arms. 



Plate L8 



THE BACKHAND DRIVE 93 

hand drive. Note carefully that the body is turned 
side wise to the net, so that in a drive parallel with 
the side-lines the chest at this point in the stroke 
would be almost parallel with the line of flight of 
the ball. Observe the position of the feet. They 
form approximately a right angle. The right foot 
should point almost, but not quite, in a line with 
the intended line of flight of the ball. This is, of 
course, a rough statement, but any one following 
it will not go far wrong. If one is driving a ball 
diagonally across the court one's chest, at the 
moment of striking, would be almost parallel to 
the diagonal of the court. This makes the general 
direction a little clearer, but foot-work is so im- 
portant that I show very clearly herein, by the 
numerous illustrations and by diagram, the 
correct position for the feet in the backhand 
drive. It is fatal to attempt to play the stroke 
facing the net, as so many do. It is, in this stroke, 
as, indeed, it is throughout the game of tennis 
generally, of the utmost importance to keep the 
eye on the ball as long as possible; indeed, one 
should aim at watching it onto the racket. 

Note carefully the position of the feet ; that the 
weight is mainly on the left leg, and, for this is of 
the greatest importance, see that the beginning of 
the stroke comes from the elbow. Remember that 
the wrist is held firmly at all times throughout the 
stroke; that, in fact, the command must be in the 
wrist. 



94 MODERN TENNIS 

Plate 31 shows the instant before impact. Notice 
again carefully the position of the feet. Good 
foot-work is the essence of the backhand drive, 
for if the feet be out of position it is impossible 
for one to get the full swing back, for one's chest 
interferes with the arm. 

Observe the elbow pointed toward the net, the 
hack of the arm from the shoulder to the elboiv 
turned upward and the side of the hand facing the 
net. See also how the weight has come onto the 
right foot. In gaging one's distance for this 
stroke one should always, when possible, allow 
room for taking a short step forward as one is 
playing the stroke. This adds both to the accuracy 
of direction and the power of the stroke. 

Plate 32 is probably the best photograph of a 
low backhand drive ever taken. Here we see again 
the foot-work on which so much stress is laid, 
the right foot pointing almost the way the ball is 
going. The ball Is seen moving off the " center' ' 
of the racket, which is practically vertical at the 
moment of impact, while the arm and the racket- 
handle, altho not in the same straight line, are 
clearly moving in the same plane of force. 

This drive is, without doubt, the most graceful 
and effective stroke in the game. Curiously, 
photographs such as this and the preceding plate 
always look constrained, but it must be remem- 
bered that the eye does not catch the individual 
pictures as does a camera. This is exemplified 



THE BACKHAND DRIVE 95 

by the wonderfully stiff positions shown in 
motion-pictures of a galloping horse, positions 
which the human eye unaided would never see. 

It will be seen that by this stroke the ball can 
be met with the full face of the racket and forced 
squarely back across the net, altho it is generally 
accompanied by some top spin. Observe that the 
shock of the blow falls on the wrist in the direction 
in which it is practically incapable of bending. 
This contributes in a marked degree to the speed 
of this stroke, both in volleying and ground- 
strokes. 

Plate 33 shows a most important position in the 
drive. Look at the preceding plate. Note that 
the thumb is behind the racket; notice also that 
the ball is taken much farther in front of the body 
than in the forehand drive. Now see in this plate 
that the thumb is showing on the near side of the 
racket-handle. This means that I am following- 
through correctly. Were my thumb still under- 
neath the handle, or inclined to be toward the far 
side of the racket-handle, it would be proof posi- 
tive that my stroke had been wrongly played, for 
the follow-through in tennis or golf is the natural 
result of correctly, or incorrectly, performed ante- 
cedent motions, and not in itself of any impor- 
tance whatever, as is so often and so foolishly 
asserted. 

If I did not allow my thumb to come around 
with the racket, following the natural turn of my 



96 MODEBN TENNIS 

arm, I should find myself locked on the shoulder 
and unable to finish my stroke properly, thus in- 
terfering seriously with both its grace and it's 
effectiveness. 

Plate 34 shows the finish of the drive. It will 
be seen that the forearm has turned over, and 
the thumb is consequently now riding on top of 
the racket-handle, altho, of course, the hand has 
never for an instant relaxed its grip of the handle. 

The grip in this stroke must be very firm from 
start to finish. Altho the command is in the wrist, 
the stroke is played mainly from the elbow, with 
the forearm- turn, and the swing from the shoul- 
der, assisted by the body-movement. It is as- 
tonishing on analysis to find how little wrist move- 
ment there is. At the finish the wrist should 
be like steel; the racket-head should come to rest 
without a tremor or wabble of any kind and should 
point in the direction in which the ball was in- 
tended to go. Observe carefully the grip show- 
ing the leather at the end of the handle in the hand 
and the thumb lying up the handle. This is the 
old grip, and I do not believe there is to-day any 
better way of holding the racket for the backhand 
stroke; but neither of these matters is essential. 
If a player finds he can make his stroke better by 
holding the racket farther up and putting his 
thumb around the handle he may do so after giving 
the other method a fair trial. 

The backhand drive played in this manner has 




Thomas C. I'.ixdy — Serving 

This shows the swingback in Bundy's effective Reverse Ameri- 
can Service. Insel is the urip for litis service thai is suitable 
for most players. 

Plate L9 



THE BACKHAND DRIVE 97 

one very great and beneficial characteristic. It 
naturally produces top spin, and not only top spin, 
but, which is of great importance, an excellently 
regulated amount of it. There is no other stroke 
in the game of which this can be said. 

The backhand chop when properly played em- 
bodies and expresses the same principle as that 
set out here as the fundamental requisite in the 
tennis-stroke. 

There is a great peculiarity about what one may 
call the psychology of this stroke, and that is that 
it inspires in those who learn it unlimited con- 
fidence on the backhand. I have taken players 
who were absolute "dubs" on the backhand and 
in a few weeks had them running around the ball 
to take it on the backhand. This sounds almost 
like an exaggeration, but it is not. 

Mr. PelPs follow-through is very good; indeed, 
his foot-work, management of his weight, and his 
execution of this stroke generally are worthy of 
the attention and study of the players of the north- 
ern hemisphere, for none of them is so good at 
this shot as Mr. Pell, and, as I have already said, 
there is absolutely no reason why the stroke should 
not be learned. 

The stroke played by Mr. Pell and that which I 
am shown playing are identical. It is the only 
true backhand stroke. Some people think they are 
different strokes. I am illustrating the drive off 
a low ball, Mr. Pell the drive off low, medium, and 



98 MODEBN TENNIS 

high bounds, and were I to show a drive off a ball 
shoulder high or even a backhand smash over my 
left ear, it would still be in its fundamental prin- 
ciples the same stroke. It covers the half circle 
which forms the backhand side wherein the racket 
works. 

The outstanding blot on American tennis is 
the defective backhand. If we had among our 
national representatives players who, in addition 
to their other strokes, were as sound as Mr. Pell 
on the backhand, there is not much doubt where 
the Davis Cup would rest for a few years. 

It therefore behooves aspiring players to take 
advantage of the lessons contained in this book. 



THE CHOP 

The chop, frequently included in the general 
term "cut," is Number IV, that stroke which pro- 
duces vertical backwardly rotating action as the 
ball is propelled from the racket. 

This stroke is played by bringing the racket A B 
with its face nearly vertical, as shown at A B, Fig. 
22, down the line E F in a forward and obliquely 
downward course, so that in passing the intended 
line of flight C D it meets the ball at C, and by 
reason of the glancing or brushing contact causes 
the ball to revolve upwardly and backwardly in the 
direction C G. This stroke, as its name implies, is 
from its very nature incapable of being played 
with a following-through action. The racket, after 
hitting the ball, continues its downward course 
until it is suddenly arrested quite near the ground. 
Of course, with less chop the stroke may be played 
with more forward movement of the racket. 

This is by no means a popular stroke, and as the 
staple of any one's game is not good; but in its 
place it is a fine shot, too little understood and 
played. There are some who contend that this 
stroke has no virtue which its more showy brother, 
the lifting drive, does not possess. I think I shall 
be able to show that this is not a correct statement. 

The flight of this ball is entirely different from 

99 



100 



MODEEN TENNIS 



that of a lifted drive. It springs away from the 
racket, endeavoring to rise all the time, and has 
nothing whatever of that assisted tendency to find 
the base-line which is the prominent and beneficial 




Figure 22 
The Chop 

characteristic of the lift ; in fact, on the contrary, 
this ball strives against gravitation as long as it 
can, while the other, once its initial spurt is 
finished, does its best to assist the natural law. 
This is most marked if you happen to be playing 
these shots up into a wind. The cut ball will get 
on the wind and sail gaily past the base-line. The 
lifted ball puts its head down and dives suddenly 
for the court. 




P. A. Vaile Serving 

I am here shown serving the Reverse American Service. 
It is gen cm 11. v advisable to put the ball more to the right, as 

shown In the next plate. 



Plate 20 



THE CHOP 101 

There is a great peculiarity in the contrast of 
the flight of these two balls. They each behave on 
landing in a manner which seems quite opposed to 
mechanical laws. The lifted ball should, from its 
forward rotation, grip the ground and dart sud- 
denly forward very low, while the cut ball should, 
at the moment of bounding, on account of its back- 
ward vertical rotation, be checked in its course, 
and, if anything, break back. As a matter of fact, 
the opposite is the case in all balls of medium pace 
and upward. The explanation is that the sudden 
drop of the lifted ball causes it to strike the ground' 
at a much more obtuse angle than it seems to, and 
thus, naturally, it comes up at something ap- 
proaching, but, of course, considering the forward 
rotation, not quite, the same angle as that at which 
it struck the ground, whereas the chop comes over 
the net and strikes the ground at a very acute 
angle with lots of backward rotation on it. There 
must be, I think, an appreciable amount of what 
engineers call "slip" — like the engine-wheels fly- 
ing round on the rail without moving the engine — 
before this ball grips the ground and bounds, and 
then, of course, the angle at which it hits the 
ground will be the sharper if we take a ball of each 
kind played with similar strength and length. 

Added to this, if the ball be played with a little 
drag as well as cut, that is, if the motion imparted 
to it be a mixture of pure backward vertical rota- 
tion, and the left-to-right horizontal spin of the 



102 



MODEEN TENNIS 



underhand service, it keeps low and breaks away 
from left to right (from striker's side) in a most 
uncertain manner. 

The chop or cut well played is one of the most 
unpleasant shots you can have on the backhand, 
for several reasons. You have to calculate the 




Figure 23 

Showing How a Chopped Ball Played Without Force or 

Crispness Finds the Net by Eeason op the 

Back Spin on it 

break, and correct that by meeting it against the 
angle at which it will be traveling. Frequently, 
you can not gage it exactly, and your racket finds 
the ball later than you intended it to, and you put 
the ball up to your opponent at the net, or, not 
allowing for the backward rotation of the ball, 
which immediately it grips your racket develops a 
strong tendency to find mother earth, you play 



THE CHOP 103 

with the trajectory you would allow a plain ball, 
and find your return in the net. You will under- 
stand what I mean by a reference to Fig. 23. 

Here you will see the ball passes over the net in 
the line G A with a large amount of vertical back- 
ward rotation from A to B, and suddenly strikes 
the racket F E at C. The instant the backward 
rotation is checked at C, the point at D is thrown 
violently down, and unless the tendency of the 
backward rotation is corrected by a sufficiently 
smart stroke or sufficiently corresponding cut to 
that which produced the rotation already on the 
ball, it will inevitably find the net, as shown by the 
dotted line C H. Many a time and often have I 
beaten the man at the net on this. He has counted 
it an easy low volley over the net, and so it would 
have been off a plain ball, but he has made the 
mistake common to so many tennis-players: 
"He has not been thinking about what the ball is 
doing in the air." I put this as a quotation. It 
is of vast importance. You must think what the 
ball is doing in the air every time. It is no worry 
to do this. It is one of the pleasures of the game, 
and will come quite naturally in time. 

As you see a billiard-ball running round the 
table you watch it and calculate that it has not 
enough side, or has too much side, or that possibly 
it has + he wrong side. It is no trouble. Do you 
ever do the same at tennis ? 

To me one of the chief delights of tennis is 



104 MODERN TENNIS 

to beat my opponent by head-work. It is astonish- 
ing what a little thing will win the match for you, 
and, apropos of the cut, you will, perhaps, excuse 
me if I inflict a little tale on you here. 

I had not played for some time when I was sud- 
denly called on to meet an old opponent, a man 
whom it was always a pleasure to meet, for he 
"kept me guessing' ' the whole time. The first set 
he played a great game, ran in on me, and 
smothered everything with fine cross-court volleys 
which skimmed the net continually. He was just 
missing the duck, and playing very accurately and 
confidently. I changed my tactics next set, and, 
when prest, time and again drove, and chopped 
hard and low, at his middle, both good shots when 
you can not get away from the net-man's atten- 
tions. I was much interested to note how many of 
the chopped balls found the net, and thereafter I 
had not much trouble. Now, you must understand, 
a champion would, perhaps, have considered why 
is this thus, and have acted accordingly, but you 
may accept it as an indisputable fact that many of 
them do not think enough, and that their execution 
of strokes is much above their knowledge of the 
game. 

In returning a chopped ball with a lifting drive 
it must be remembered that you are about to ac- 
centuate the rotation. In the matter of rotation, 
similar strokes check the spin, dissimilar accen- 
tuate it. It will be apparent, then, to a very or- 



THE CHOP 105 

dinary understanding that in "lifting" a chopped 
ball, allowance must be made, for (speaking from 
the striker-out's side) it already has a large 
amount of forward vertical rotation, and if he 
puts the same amount of lift into his stroke that 
he would were he dealing with a plain ball in- 



Ordinary plain-face drive without rotation, showing even and 
symmetrical flight of ball, and bound thereof. 



Drive with lift or forward vertical rotation, showing sudden 
drop at base-line when initial force weakens, also bound with 
rotation still asserting its influence. 



The chop (usually played on a fairly high-bounding ball), show- 
ing peculiar straight flight due to backward vertical rotation, also 
peculiar shooting bound. 

Figure 24 

tended just to escape the net, he will inevitably 
turn the chopped ball down into the net. 

The cut or chop can be most effectively played 
on a high-bounding ball, and for a straight passing 
shot down your opponent's backhand off such a 
ball it is hard to beat, also it is a very nice shot to 
go up on, and there are lots of contingencies about 
it; but mind you don't get too fond of it. 

Figure 24 is a comparison of the flight and 
bound of the ordinary plain-faced drive without 
rotation, the drive with lift, and the chop or cut. 



THE LOB 

I think the question of straight dropping lobs 
is worthy of a little further consideration. Sup- 
posing you are near the base-line, and a very high 
lob is dropping straight down to you. It will, by 
the time it reaches you, have acquired quite a con- 
siderable impetus. Of course, few, if any, lobs 
drop absolutely straight down, but I am, for argu- 
ment's sake, imagining such a one. You are wait- 
ing for this. To play your shot perfectly, you 
must hit that ball on a little piece in the middle of 
your racket no bigger than, if, indeed, as large as, 
the palm of your hand. Has it ever occurred to 
you to wonder what infinitesimal portion of a 
second there is within which that stroke can be 
properly played ? If your racket-head be inclined 
forwardly and downwardly as you strike the ball, 
you can see how hopeless it will be to make a good 
shot. I can not impress upon you too forcibly 
that to smash well you must get well under your 
work. One of the chief faults with the service of 
many beginners is that they throw the ball up too 
far in front of them and, naturally enough, smite 
it into the net. So little is the time that you 
actually have for making the stroke, and so great 
the downward impetus, that many players un- 
consciously correct the falling tendency, and give 

106 



THE LOB 107 

themselves a little more margin of time in which 
to play the shot by standing in under the ball a 
little further than is advisable for a severe smash, 
and playing the shot with the head of the racket 
further back than the wrist, so that the blade lies 
back at an angle which allows the ball to fall on 



g \ f 



"**-** 



C 



6 ©i 

Figure 25 

Showing Flight of Cut Lob (a) Being Smashed at E, 
(&) Bounding at H 
A, F, H — Imaginary continuance of flight. 

H — Ball and point of contact with earth. Rotation E G assert- 
ing itself and producing bound H G, or modified form thereof. 

to the face of it at a very sharp angle. There is 
the quick-dropping ball, which has to be judged 
from, say, ninety feet — I have seen a Yankee 
" sky-scraper' ' so high — and your swiftly wielded 
racket traveling at right angles to each other to 
meet practically exactly where you intend them to. 
You may accept my word for it that smashing lobs 
requires practise, and should get it. Try to 
imagine yourself playing this shot with a racket 
having a blade four inches in diameter and a 
handle eighteen inches long. This is what you 
practically do every time you make a perfect 



108 MODEBN TENNIS 

smash. A consideration of these statements, and 
a glance at the accompanying Fig. 25 on the sub- 
ject, will show you the importance of making your 
lobs drop straight, if there is any chance of your 
opponents getting at them. 

The peculiar flight of the lob shown is given 
with the object of drawing attention to the sudden 
and straight drop of cut lobs. It would almost 
seem that directly the initial force is expended, a 
cut lob should drop straighter than a lifted one, 
and it is certainly a safer shot so far as present 
developments are concerned, but a lifted lob is a 
shot I have never seen designedly played, whereas 
cut lobs are common. With a cut lob it must not 
be forgotten that in addition to dropping dead, 
and having acquired downward impetus, it is re- 
volving backwardly toward the net and away from 
him who is going to play it (E, G, Fig. 25), so that 
the moment his racket grips it at E, a third force 
which is fighting in favor of the lobber is called 
into being, for the instant the backward rotation 
is checked by the impact of the racket on that side 
of the ball nearer the volleyer at E, the other side 
at Gr strives all it can to run down the racket. Of 
course, it can not do it if the volley is well played, 
but many a time have I smiled to myself, as I have 
seen the man at the net trust his racket to return 
a shot of mine which would have infallibly come 
back off the same stroke if the ball had not been 
rotating backwardly, but as the ball had been 




P. A. Vaile — Serving 

This plate shows the next stage In the Reverse American 

Service. In this case the wrist is being used very loosely, altho 
Ihe grip of the racket is linn. 



Plate 21 



THE LOB 109 

allowed to strike the racket, instead of the racket 
striking it, it had simply gripped it, curled about 
on its face momentarily, and fallen down. I re- 
peat, you must deal determinedly with a ball 
which is rotating considerably. 

Eemember, then, that when you put up a good, 
straight-dropping cut lob you have three good 
allies righting for you : 

1. The difficulty of timing. 

2. The acquired downward impetus. 

3. The accentuated downward rotation which 
comes into play the moment the ball is struck. 

And, remember, when it is tossed up to you, 
that they are all there, and get out of your head 
any idea of hitting it downward. If you con- 
sistently aim for three feet over the net you will 
miss fewer than you do now. Think of this. How 
often, in proportion to the number which go into 
the net, do you see smashed lobs go beyond the 
base-line? There must be a reason. If you can 
find better ones I shall be interested. 

Added to this there can be no doubt that the 
average player is thinking too much about the net 
and the man at it. His idea, if his tennis-intellect 
were cultivated to the utmost, would be, "What 
is the angle from the face of my racket to the base- 
line !" 

The backhand lobs, it is almost needless to say, 
are played in much the same manner as the back- 
hand stroke, with, of course, the difference of ele- 



110 MODEEN TENNIS 

vation. I find that I can lob with great accuracy, 
particularly across the court, by getting well under 
the ball and putting a fair amount of backhand 
cut on it. This ball nearly always deceives who- 
ever is chasing it. Forehand cut on a lob is fre- 
quently mere backward rotation, and so does not 
make the ball break so much as backhand, which, 
in my stroke, is nearly horizontal action. If you 
use the backhand cut, lob down the middle, 
especially if it is blowing, for, otherwise, if the 
wind comes from your forehand side it will accen- 
tuate the natural curl of your stroke and carry 
the ball out of court. 



THE VOLLEY 

I have already dealt fairly fully with the vol- 
ley, so that it practically only remains for me 
here to discuss the effect and advantages of those 
strokes which impart spin or work to the ball. 

Both services, the forehand cut, and the reverse 
overhead, make splendid volleys for two rea- 
sons: first, the grip which one gets on the ball 
gives one a greater certainty in placing the ball; 
and, second, the line of flight of the ball being 
influenced merely by the angle at which the face of 
one's racket hits it at the last moment, it is almost 
impossible to anticipate correctly its flight, and 
moreover, from its spin, which in a severe stroke 
is considerable, the bound will be low and erratic, 
and render a safe return, — even if the ball be 
reached, — problematical. Up till the very moment 
of striking, it may look as if you intended to 
smash the ball back to the base-line, when, at the 
last fraction of a second, your blade turns, and the 
ball flies on to the side-line, between the service- 
line and the net. 

For many volleys at the net the cut is advan- 
tageous, especially if you want to drop a ball 
short, and, indeed, I never advise playing a ball 
off the ground by a tap with the plain face. It is 
more certain, as a general rule, to cut it over if 

111 



112 MODEEN TENNIS 

you want to drop it short, and it gives the op- 
posing side less time to reach it. 

Altho one rarely sees them used, the forehand 
and backhand lifting drives make beautiful and 
effective volleys when the ball comes to hand at a 
suitable elevation, and the return can be played so 
sharply across court as to be almost a certain 
score. I have seen some of the American players 
make these shots splendidly. They are well worth 
trying, as the would-be champion can not know 
too much. One of England's foremost players, 
who never volleys unless he can not help himself, 
when forced to do so, plays a fierce and effective 
forehand volley of this description. 

I would lay it down as a general rule that you 
should not volley straight down the court, but, 
rather, cut it off at an angle. As in everything 
else, however, you must be guided by circum- 
stances, and you should remember that you must 
not go seeking the side-lines when you can win 
with a yard to spare; and again, do not bother 
about making ferocious gallery smashes where 
force is unnecessary, for you are only making 
your opponent a present of so much energy. On 
the other hand, if he picks up one of your "pats," 
which you should have ' ' murdered, ' ' I shall be the 
last to say an extenuating word in your favor. 

Many volleys are killed by pure pace, others 
are smashed hard on to the ground with such force 
that the bound carries them beyond your oppo- 




Thomas C. Bund's Serving 

Tlii.s shows Bundy al the moment of Impact, and is a valuable 
lesson iu the production of this service. 



Plate 22 



THE VOLLEY 113 

nent's reach. It is necessary to consider that you 
mean to hit this latter kind of volley down into 
the court. Don't trust to gravitation and acquired 
impetus for this shot. Eemember that if you mean 
to make an effective smash you must call upon 
your body to assist you and throw your weight 
into the stroke. 



THE MODERN SERVICE 

Theee can be little doubt that modern tennis is 
too much service and not enough play. That is 
a peculiar way of expressing it. An old baseball- 
player put it another way. He said : ' i Tennis is 
now very much like baseball — all pitcher," and 
there can be no doubt that the "pitcher" — or 
server — occupies a totally disproportionate place 
in the game. 

The service was originally more the means of 
putting the ball in play than a branch of forcing 
offensive tactics, and in the early days of the game 
it was not the tremendous advantage that it is 
now in the hands of a first-class player. 

At the last Davis Cup contest there was a re- 
markable exhibition of the preponderance of the 
service in the modern game. Those who saw the 
memorable match between Norman E. Brookes 
and Maurice E. McLoughlin, will remember that 
it was not until the thirty-first game that 
McLoughlin succeeded in breaking through his 
opponent's service and then winning his own serv- 
ice and the set at 17-15. For thirty games these 
two fine players had alternately won the service. 

Many people thought that this was a great 
tennis-match. It did not seem so to me. It was 
the most wonderful service duel that I ever saw — 
or expect to see; but it demonstrated beyond a 

114 



THE MODERN SERVICE 115 

doubt that the service will soon have to be regu- 
lated in some manner, otherwise its preponderance 
will ruin the game. I foresaw this when this 
book was first published. I then suggested that 
in time the measurements of the court would have 
to be altered to suit the development of the game. 

The service would not be such a tremendous 
advantage as it is if the foot-fault umpires were 
courageous and able enough to see that the rules 
of the game were observed. In England, the duty 
of calling foot-faults is supposed, and rightly so, 
to devolve on the base-linesman at each end. In 
America they have a special peripatetic umpire 
who calls — or otherwise — the faults at both ends. 

In writing of the modern service, I am afraid 
that I can not help being severe. It is in many 
cases quite unfair, which makes it impossible to 
yield one's tribute of admiration to many very 
fine performances, for a game that is founded on 
irregularity can not be regarded so highly as it 
would be were it perfectly legitimate. 

There are so many well-known players whose 
delivery is quite unfair that I have no intention 
of even attempting to name them all. Some of 
them I shall refer to. Many of them obtain a 
most unfair advantage from their methods. 
Others, who infringe the rules regularly, are 
merely technical offenders and obtain no benefit 
from their breach, but the breach should not be 
made. A rule is a rule, and the game ceases to 



116 MODEEN TENNIS 

be the game when players arrogate to themselves 
the right to act in a manner which is inconsistent 
with the laws. 

I can not put it more strongly than W. A. Larned 
once did. I was foot-fault judge at an important 
tournament near New York, and I had dealt firmly 
with two well-known offenders. It appears that 
Larned had been watching my ' ' calling. ' ' After 
the match the winner was talking about my um- 
piring, as players always will talk when they are 
called for delivering an unfair service. 

Larned "chipped in" so that he could be heard 
all over the piazza, saying: "And Vaile didn't 
call one that wasn't a foot-fault. Look here 
1 Jones' — let us say — have you ever realized that 
if you are playing a man on a bet you are trying to 
cheat him out of his money?" 

Now "Jones" did not like this very much. It 
sounds bald and crude, but it is the fact. 

Players are much to blame for the lax adminis- 
tration of the laws in this respect. They are nearly 
always rude when they are made to play fairly. 
This does not apply only to America. Stealing 
four feet on the run up to the net is part of many 
players' tactics in England. It is an unpleasant 
thing to say, but it is only the truth. Now it is 
getting just as bad here. Some one has to deal 
with the matter. It simply must be done in the 
interests of the game. I should not do it now 
unless I had been specially requested to do so. 




P. A. Vaile- -Serving 

The impacl in the Reverse American Service. This is prac- 
tically ;i front view of the position shown in the preceding plate 
of Mr. Bundy, whose grip is slightly differenl from mine. Note 
thai the ball is hit as the rackel is ascending. 



Plate 23 



THE MODERN SERVICE 117 

It is not necessary to foot-fault. The best 
players rarely do it, unless they want to get a fly- 
ing start ! 

When Brookes was playing Larned in the bye 
of the Davis Cup at Queen's Club, London, some 
years ago, I was on one of the base-lines. The 
famous referee, the late B. C. Evelegh, tennis 
editor of The Field, asked me to take the line. 

"Certainly," I said, "I shall be glad to"; and 
I added: "There's nothing depending on this 
match, and so I don't care how I put them off their 
game. I'll call every semblance of a foot-fault." 

1 i Right. Do ! " he said ; and I went on. 

Larned beat Brookes in three sets and I did not 
call a foot-fault. 

Evelegh came to me afterward and said : "Why 
didn't you call the foot-faults?" 

"For a most excellent reason," I replied. 
"There were none to call." 

"That's right," said Evelegh. "I was watch- 
ing them with you. ' ' 

Brookes and Larned were within an inch or two 
of foot-faulting all the time, but neither of them 
served an unfair ball. It should be part of a good 
player's education to time his delivery so that it 
is fair. 

H. L. Doherty was another very fair server. I 
only foot-faulted him once. Judging by the ' l Ooh- 
h-h" that ran around the gallery at Queen's it had 
not happened frequently before. I never heard 



118 MODEKN TENNIS 

of him being faulted, nor did I ever see him making 
foot-faults. 

Wilding, on the other hand, was in the habit of 
making a wide variety of foot-faults frequently. 
If Wilding saw me on a line in a double he would 
always choose the other end to serve from. On 
one occasion he was heard to say to his partner, 
"Let me have this end, I want to dodge Vaile." 

I believe I am responsible for the peculiar way 
Wilding stands off the base-line, about a yard 
behind it. 

It was at Queen's Club, London, in the Covered 
Courts championship, and I had pulled him up 
again and again for bolting over the line before 
the ball had left his racket. 

Wilding thought he would show the gallery what 
"silly nonsense'' all this foot-faulting was, "don't 
you know!" He deliberately stood back about 
four feet, reached out with his racket and touched 
the base-line, then looked at me as much as to say : 
"See where I am?" After this performance he 
served. 

The ball hadn't left his racket before I called 
like a pistol-crack, "Fault." Wilding had not 
moved forward more than a few inches. 

He looked at me and then said in his funny, muf- 
fled way, "How can it be a fault? I'm nowhere 
near the line. ' ' 

I replied, promptly: "I didn't say you were, 
Mr. Wilding ; but you must not jump when you are 



THE MODERN SERVICE 119 

serving ; both your feet were off the floor. ' ' And 
what laugh there was wasn't in the place that 
Wilding had calculated. 

ly^rn. mentioning some of these cases that seem 
interesting to me, because I think a determined 
effort should be made to put down the habit, and 
to uphold umpires who ably and conscientiously 
do their duty. Most people try to avoid what 
has come to be looked on as a thankless and un- 
pleasant task. I think it would assist a good deal 
in weeding out the abuse if the infringement were 
called "Foul." Nobody desires to uphold a foul. 
Not one player in ten knows what constitutes a 
foot-fault. I foot-faulted a player — an ex-cham- 
pion — in the center court at Newport a year or 
two ago. He "roared" — as they always do — and 
would have made it very uncomfortable for many 
people. 

I merely said, "Don't worry about him. He's 
all right. He'll apologize twice within a fort- 
night." And he did. The trouble is that not 
everybody is so oblivious to public opinion as I 
am when I know I am right, and the consequence 
is that it is becoming increasingly hard to obtain 
competent foot-fault umpires and linesmen. 

On the second — or third — occasion when my 
irascible Newport friend apologized to me I said, 
"Now, forget about it. Suppose, instead of my 
making you play fairly, a volcano had opened up 
and swallowed you and me and all those people 



120 MODEBN TENNIS 

making a noise in the stand, we never should have 
been missed, so what you and I did wasn't of 
much importance really, was it 1 Now let me show 
you what you did." And I did so. 

"But that isn't a foot-fault, is it?" he said. 

"Oh yes, it is," I replied, "and you make it 
quite often. You don't get much, if any, advan- 
tage from it, it's true, but if I am calling your 
opponent strictly I can not let you go on infringing 
the rules." 

But his opponent, whom I had called ten times, 
was getting an advantage from his breaches of the 
rules. He was running in on his service, and was 
getting a foot or two over the line before he hit 
the ball. This is what McLoughlin and many 
other players habitually do. 

McLoughlin has had his attention called to this. 
He maintains, and rightly, too, that he is entitled 
to consider his service fair unless the foot-fault 
umpire calls him. The trouble is that so few um- 
pires are game to do their duty. It is most 
amusing to hear the apologetic manner in which 
they say "Fault." If, instead of this, one heard 
coming, like the crack of a revolver, ' ' Foul ! " I am 
sure it would have a salutary effect. 

I must speak plainly about McLoughlin 's serv- 
ice. In my opinion it is very unfair. His right 
foot is, in an important match, generally over the 
line long before he hits the ball. 

He could not get his great speed of service and 





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THE MODERN SERVICE 121 

run up, unless this were so. I have hesitated long 
before I put this on record, and only do so now 
under pressure and the most absolute conviction 
of its justice and necessity. Many tennis players 
know that this is my opinion. At the last cham- 
pionship at Newport, McLoughlin, during his 
match with Williams, was foot-faulted eight times 
in the three sets. 

In twenty years ' experience of the game I have 
never heard a player of his class "called" so 
often. I can not call to mind a case of one being 
"called" half as many times in one match. I did 
not see this match, but it is not unlikely that 
being held to the base-line was enough to turn the 
scales against McLoughlin. The umpire who 
called him is a competent and fair judge, now the 
President of the West Side Tennis Club. 

The practise is a great and growing evil, a 
menace to the game, and, moreover, it robs it of 
much of its interest. I will not permit a man 
to do it against me in a friendly game. Certainly 
one does not often have to put up with it there, but 
I have directed a man's attention to the fact that 
the right place for his shoes is outside the court 
until the ball is on its way. 

McLoughlin not only gets the advantage of his 
terrific speed from being allowed the free plunge 
of his right side onto the ball, but he gets such a 
flying start for the net that he can get almost on 
top of it for the return. Six inches often mean 



122 MODEEN TENNIS 

the difference between a killing downward or 
cross-court volley, and an upward stroke fighting 
for position on the next return; but if one can 
annex six feet it is turning the game of tennis into 
something not contemplated by the laws. 

There is no possibility of doubt that the chief de- 
velopment of modern tennis is the American serv- 
ice. It was in 1904, in the first edition of ' i Modern 
Tennis,' ' that I pointed out that this would be so, 
and explained for the benefit of English players 
most clearly how this valuable service was pro- 
duced. I well remember that in those days it 
was considered that I attached far too much im- 
portance to the spin of the ball. The English idea 
of tennis is to waft the ball continually back and 
forth across the net until the other man misses it, 
and there is an entire absence of work on the ball. 
This follows almost naturally from the extremely 
defective grip of the racket which is used by nearly 
all English players. 

In this same year, 1904, at the East Croydon 
Tournament, the president of the All England 
Lawn-Tennis Club came to me and, with a delight- 
fully patronizing smile, said: " Don't you think, 
Mr. Vaile, that this American service idea is thor- 
oughly exploded?" I assured him that, on the 
contrary, it had not begun to be understood by 
Englishmen ; and that as they did not know either 
the theory or the practise of the stroke, it was 
somewhat premature to talk about it being ex- 
ploded. 



THE MODERN SERVICE 123 

English players know now the tremendous in- 
fluence which spin has on the flight and bound of 
the ball, and they are making an endeavor to 
obtain the benefits which arise from imparting 
spin to the ball; but their defective hold of the 
racket absolutely prevents them from getting 
many of the best strokes in the game. 

No player who produces his strokes on the lines 
of the English or Continental players can ever 
hope to be consistently accurate against a power- 
ful opponent. 

We had a most remarkable illustration of this 
recently in the Davis Cup Contest, when a bril- 
liant young player who was opposed to two play- 
ers who in the main produce their strokes soundly, 
showed how extremely erratic it was possible for 
one who uses these methods to be. I am referring 
here to the English method of stroke-production, 
because, generally speaking, it is useless for deal- 
ing with the best class of modern service. 

The distinguishing feature of the American 
service is that it is produced by forward or over 
spin, that is to say, the ball is dispatched from 
the server to the receiver, spinning toward the 
receiver. Sometimes this spin is a pure forward 
spin, which means spin about a horizontal axis. 
This gives the ball a very sudden dip in its flight 
before it strikes in the court, and a very high and 
long bound, and is in itself a good service, but this 
can not strictly be called the American service. It 



124 MODERN TENNIS 

is more properly called the lifting service, and 
may be played both forehanded and with the re- 
verse action. To get the American service the 
spin, instead of being a pure forward spin, must 
be forward and top spin, which lies over at an 
angle of roughly 45 degrees. Perhaps it will make 
my explanation clearer if I say that the spin of 
the American service is forward spin about an axis 
which lies at an angle of 45 degrees. The result 
of this "tilt" of the axis of the spin is that the ball 
swerves from right to left of the server, and bounds 
from left to right. I am still speaking from the 
server's side of the net and of a right-handed 
player. 

Now, as the receiver, when I see the American 
service coming to me, I note that it swerves from 
my left to my right, and in ordinary circumstances 
I should assume that the break of the ball would 
continue in the direction of the flight, but it does 
nothing of the sort. Immediately it hits the earth, 
it breaks back from my right to my left. 

This was a very great puzzle to English players 
until I explained the reason, which is really simple 
enough. 

All spinning things strive very hard to stay in 
the plane of their rotation. That is what makes 
the spinning top stand up and "go to sleep." So 
it is with the American service ; the ball is spinning 
in a plane which lies over at an angle of 45 degrees, 
and when it strikes the earth, it strives very hard 



THE MODERN SERVICE 125 

to stay in the plane of its rotation. Simply put, 
that is the reason for the apparently erratic bound 
of the American service. 

There is a quality in the American service which 
has, so far as I am aware, never been referred to 
in any published book on the game, that is the 
tremendous amount of swerve which there is in 
the bound of the ball. The ball on striking the 
earth breaks in an unusual manner and swerves 
in its break to a far greater extent than any other 
ball that I know. The consequence is that un- 
less a player watches the ball almost until it is 
on his racket — for, as a matter of fact, nobody 
watches the ball onto his racket, nor indeed as 
near to it as he should — he will have many "wood 
strokes." 

I do not propose to deal at length with the return 
of the American service. Briefly, I may say that 
the bound of the ball should be well covered by the 
face of the racket, that is to say, that if the ball is 
rising, the face of the racket must be inclined to- 
ward the net, for it is obvious that in playing a 
rising ball with top spin, if one simply meets it 
with the vertical face, the result would be an out, 
probably over the base-line. It is practically use- 
less to attempt to deal gently with any variety of 
the American service, except, perhaps, by covering 
the bound and popping it at the feet of one's oppo- 
nent, which is a very good method of return, 
unless the opposing player is extremely fast in 



126 MODEEN TENNIS 

getting to the net, for it leaves him to play a slow 
ball falling at his feet as he dashes up to the net, 
and in the majority of cases he is put at a dis- 
advantage in trying to do so. In returning a serv- 
ice in this manner the wrist and grip must be very 
firm, otherwise the ball will take hold of the racket 
too much. 

Generally speaking, however, an effective 
American service must be vigorously dealt with. 
It must be hit hard enough to hold and kill the 
spin by mere force of impact, or it must be met and 
driven by the same spin as that which has already 
been given to the ball by the player on the other 
side or by some cross spin which grips and kills the 
spin already on the ball. For instance, a good 
return to the American service is a forehand drive 
with lift, that is, with top spin. As the American 
service already has a modification of top spin, it 
follows that directly a player endeavors to 
drive it with lift, his spin has to grip, fight, and 
overcome the spin that is already on the ball, for, 
as may be seen in all kinds of spin on a tennis- 
ball, like answers like, that is to say, chop kills 
chop and lift or top-spin arrests and kills top- 
spin, while top or lift increases chop, and vice 
versa. 

This is not sufficiently understood. The result 
is that very frequently men who are in the habit 
of " stroking' ' the ball feel utterly lost when they 
meet a man who chops his ball, for the simple 



THE MODERN SERVICE 127 

reason that they add to the spin which is already 
on the chopped ball, as back-spin from the server's 
side is forward spin viewed from the receiver's 
side; therefore, if he hits the ball, which already 
has on it a large amonnt of spin from him to- 
ward his opponent with the ordinary lifting 
stroke, he simply increases the spin that is al- 
ready on the ball, and in too many cases puts it 
into the net. 

This is not a question of mere theory. It ap- 
plies with great force to all high-bounding services 
with much spin. It is expedient for the player to 
know exactly what is taking place as the ball 
comes through the air toward him, and bounds 
off his court. It is only by thoroughly realizing 
this that an intelligent player can get the best 
possible result, for the action of the spin in the 
American service is so great off the racket that a 
drive for the side-line has frequently to be directed 
to a point two yards inside that line at the base- 
line. 

It will not be necessary for me to say much here 
about the production of the ordinary American 
service. The plates show very clearly, indeed, how 
this valuable service may be produced. Some 
players, it seems to me, particularly Wilding, get 
an excess of spin on the ball. McLoughlin does 
not make this error. He does not get more spin 
on his ball than is sufficient to drop it in the serv- 
ice-court while it is traveling at its greatest pace. 



128 MODEEN TENNIS 

An excessive spin, naturally, has the effect of slow- 
ing the ball's flight considerably. McLoughlin 
has the regulation of his spin calculated to a 
fraction. In this respect he is worthy of the 
closest study. 

The Eeverse American service is much less used 
than the ordinary American. It is one of the 
hardest services in the game to learn correctly, 
but both it and the ordinary reverse overhead 
service are well worthy of cultivation. The main 
objection to the Eeverse American service, it 
seems to me, is that it does not throw one into 
one's stride for the net to the same extent as does 
the ordinary American. I have shown the Ee- 
verse American service by four pictures (inter 
alia) of Mr. Thomas C. Bundy, who has a very 
effective Eeverse American service, which is, so 
far as I know, the best of its kind in America. Mr. 
Bundy 's grip is more to the side of his racket 
than is mine. This is unquestionably good theory. 
In my ordinary forehand cut service I get well to 
the side of the racket. It would seem right, there- 
fore, to reverse this for the Eeverse American 
service. 

The difference between the Eeverse American 
service and the reverse overhead service is just 
exactly the same difference as there is between 
the ordinary forehand cut service and the Ameri- 
can service ; that is to say, that the racket instead 
of traveling horizontally across the ball as in the 




Norman E. Beookes— Foeehand Deive 
Notice carefully the line position of the feet -, , 1( i n,, ( fl , 

:':l:-!:i- !!- - «>« - V';;' ''::",:.::::,.;;;■;;' 



called in the same line, also thai th 
ball. 

Plate 25 



rackel head is below the 



THE MODERN SERVICE 129 

reverse cut, goes upwardly across it at an angle 
of, roughly speaking, 45 degrees. In the reverse 
overhead cut the ball in its break follows the 
swerve of the service, but in the American service, 
on account of the " tilted' ' top spin, to which I 
have already referred, the break is always against 
the swerve of the ball. This makes the American 
service a very deceptive stroke to those who are 
not accustomed to it. The word "break" in Eng- 
land always means the course of the erratic bound 
of the ball. Here it is sometimes used as a syn- 
onym for curve or swerve. I am using it in the 
former sense here. 

The ordinary reverse overhead. cut service is 
one of the most useful strokes in the game. 
One of Norman E. Brookes' deadly services is 
practically a reverse overhead cut service, for, 
being a left-hander, his forehand cut service is 
equivalent to a right-handed man's reverse over- 
head service. 



FOOT-FAULTS 

I have already referred incidentally to the mat- 
ter of foot-faults, but the question is of such im- 
portance to the game that I feel that it merits 
some special treatment. 

This is the rule : 

"Law 6. The server shall before commencing 
to serve stand with both feet at rest behind (i e., 
further from the net than) the base-line and with- 
in the limits of the imaginary continuation of the 
half-court and side-lines, and thereafter the server 
shall not run, walk, hop or jump before the serv- 
ice has been delivered, but the server may raise 
one foot from (and, if desired, replace it on) the 
ground, provided that both feet are kept behind 
the base-line until the service has been delivered. 

Official interpretation of Law 6 — "If a foot be 
lifted and replaced, there must be no change of 
position that can possibly be considered a step." 

It might possibly be well at some time to amend 
the law so that it would read as follows : 

Law 6. The server shall before commencing to 
serve stand with both feet at rest behind (i. e., 
further from the net than) the base-line and within 
the limits of the imaginary continuation of the 
center-line and the side-line of the court from 

130 



FOOT-FAULTS 131 

ivhich he is serving, and thereafter the server shall 
not run, walk, hop, or jump, before the service has 
been delivered, but the server may raise one foot 
from (and, if desired, replace it on) the ground, 
provided that both feet are kept behind the base- 
line and within the limits aforesaid until the serv- 
ice has been delivered. 

As the rule at present stands, it seems that a 
player, serving from the left court, may stand 
right up to the half-court line and then, in serving, 
deliver his ball so that he is practically serving 
from the right court, for his whole body, with the 
exception of his left foot and a portion of his 
left leg, may be immediately behind the right 
court. This is commonly regarded as a fault, but 
it seems, as the law now stands, that this is a 
doubtful point. Also, if my reading of the rule is 
right, as it stands at present, a player may get an 
advantage by standing at the extreme corner of 
the court and serving from beyond the side-line 
produced, for the definition of "behind" in the 
rules is "further from the net than." 

The laws are, generally speaking, somewhat 
loosely drawn and incomplete. In any game one 
must have laws, and if they are worth making they 
are worth making well. There has already been 
far too much doubt and annoyance caused by this 
rule, and it can not be made too clear or enforced 
too strictly. 

Many people, including quite a number of good 



132 MODEKN TENNIS 

players, think that a foot-fault must be committed 
by something done in relation to the line, whereas 
it is not so, as I have already in one case clearly 
shown. 

One may foot-fault by walking up to the proper 
position behind the base-line and delivering the 
service without coming to "rest." Quite a num- 
ber of good players do this. 

One may foot-fault by having both feet off the 
ground during the act of serving. 

One may foot-fault by taking a step onto the 
ball, that is to say, advancing toward the net 
during the act of serving, altho it would not be a 
fault if even the foot nearer the net were raised 
and replaced not nearer the net than its original 
position. 

If the foot nearer the net be raised and replaced 
closer to the net than its original position it is a 
foot-fault, for certainly it "can possibly be con- 
sidered a step." 

One may, of course, foot-fault by having one or 
both feet on or over the base-line during the act 
of serving. 

A comparatively uncommon foot-fault occurs 
when the player starts the act of serving in such 
a position that he is not within the limits of the 
center-line produced and the side-line of the court 
from which he is serving produced, altho, as I 
have shown, it is doubtful if the service would be 
a fault if he started properly within those limits 




Norman E. Brookes— Forehand Drive 

Again notice the perfecl footwork, and thai the racket, altho 
it lias come so far up, is qo1 yet turned much. Observe care- 
fully the line of the forearm and tiio racket. 



Plate 26 



FOOT-FAULTS 133 

and swung over into, or rather behind, the other 
court during the act of serving. 

The most vicious form of foot-fault is that 
wherein the player gets the right foot, or some 
part of it, above or over the line before the ball 
has left the racket. I am, of course, speaking 
now of a right-handed player. 

Many people, even experienced players, are 
under the impression that in order to make a foot- 
fault it is necessary to have one foot on the line 
or one foot down in the court. This is not so. 
One may be standing on the left foot six inches 
clear of the line, in the act of serving, with the 
racket within six inches — or an inch — of the ball, 
and with the right big toe directly above the base- 
line. This is a foot-fault. It becomes a foot- 
fault directly the toe impinges on the line, whether 
it is in contact with it or is two feet above it, as 
actually happens with some players. I am, of 
course, speaking of a right-handed player. 

It appears that the United States National 
Lawn-Tennis Association is very anxious to put 
down the abuse of foot-faulting. In the book of 
laws published by them occurs the following : 

"Foot-fault rule. Every effort to bring about 
the careful observance of this rule during the 
coming playing-season will be used by the Execu- 
tive Committee, who will welcome the cooperation 
of all Club-officers in connection with tournaments 
held under the sanction of the national body. If 



134 MODERN TENNIS 

every Club holding an authorized tournament will 
make a special effort to secure for their tourna- 
ment a "Foot-fault Committee," and will have 
such Committee carefully study and post them- 
selves as to just what constitutes a foot-fault, and 
then rigidly enforce such rule, material good will 
be accomplished in connection with the legitimate 
interests of the game. 

"The Executive Committee especially requests 
that all Clubs giving tournaments with the sanc- 
tion of U. S. N. L. T. A., include in their printed 
notices direct information, 'That the foot-fault 
rule must be observed,' and copy such rule ver- 
batim — as part of their tournament announce- 
ment. ' ' 

This sounds very well, but the trouble is that it 
is not carried out as it should be even by the 
officials of the Association. I hear them again 
and again apologetically calling some well-known 
player for about one transgression in five in 
a voice which seems to say," I hope you will for- 
give me, old chap," instead of ripping out the 
call in a voice which means, "You have done 
wrong and don't make any mistake about it. 
Don't look at me, young man, as tho you were an 
injured innocent. I can see your shoes better 
than you can, and on all questions of fact I am as 
absolute on this line as the Czar of Russia, and 
don't you forget it." 



FOOT-FAULTS 135 

An apologetic foot-fault umpire is worse than 
none at all. 

I am sure that if the officials of the Association 
were to support in a most vigorous way capable 
and firm umpires this abuse of foot-faulting would 
soon be stamped out. 

At Seabright the year before last I foot-faulted 
two players repeatedly. I had to be very severe 
with one of them. He is a noted athlete. He was 
on the service-line, or very adjacent thereto, by 
the time the ball left his racket. He would un- 
doubtedly have won the match had I let him con- 
tinue to transgress. His opponent was not so 
bad. This match had a most important bearing 
on the year's rating. 

The loser was very rude to me. He afterward 
sent a letter to the Secretary of the club directing 
him to apologize to me. I did not get the letter, 
but he told me of it himself afterward at New- 
port, and I saw that he had remodeled his service 
so that it was entirely fair as a result of the one 
"gruelling" that he got. He was easily the worst 
I ever saw on a tennis-court. 

He was perturbed to think that I had not re- 
ceived his apology. I assured him that from my 
point of view it did not matter, but that, looking 
at it from his, I was very glad that he had sent 
it, and that we could easily forget it, for they all 
"kick" and will continue to do so until we call 
"Foul" instead of "Fault" for this offense. 



136 MODEEN TENNIS 

At Newport the year before last I foot-faulted 
E. N. Williams 2d ten times in one match. Once I 
double foot-faulted him, and the second foot-fault 
gave his opponent the set. I did not realize this as 
I was calling it, altho, needless to say, it would 
not have made any difference. 

Williams came to me next day and asked me to 
watch him in a match he was playing, to see if he 
was serving fairly. I did so, and found that he 
had altered his delivery by dragging his right toe, 
which saved him from transgressing so badly as 
he had been doing. 

After Seabright I was asked to assist at West- 
chester, which I gladly did. There I held the 
players to the base-line, and my decisions were 
received in a most proper and sportsmanlike 
manner, players of international reputation alter- 
ing their methods when their infractions were 
pointed out to them. Indeed, in the rare cases 
where it is seriously otherwise, the offense carries 
its own condemnation, for after all, judging foot- 
faults is a simple operation, and disputing an 
umpire's decision is excessively bad form. 

I have had many amusing experiences in this 
connection, but I am bound to say that the tennis- 
players of America are as good a lot of sports- 
men as one might want to meet in girdling the 
globe, and I am sure that the majority of those 
who violate the rules so openly do not realize what 
an injustice they are inflicting on their opponent, 
or what an injury they are doing the game. 




Maurice E. McLoughlin Forehand Drive 

There is a lack of muscular Intention in this stroke, the foot- 
work is loose, and the balance is lacking. The racket lias begun 
to turn too soon. This is McLougblin's pronounced fault on the 
forehand, excepl when playing a bigh-bounding ball. 



Plate 



FOOT-FAULTS 137 

I could, if I cared to do so, give some very re- 
markable illustrations of the mental attitude of 
some people with regard to this question, but I 
think that I have said enough to indicate clearly 
my opinion of its seriousness and my earnest hope 
that it will be severely dealt with. 

For my part, I have decided that I shall call 
every foot-fault "Foul." If objection is taken to 
that, I shall fall back on the German pronuncia- 
tion, and instead of calling "Fault" I shall call 
' i Foult. ' ' This will soon do away with any sym- 
pathy for the transgressor. At present, there is 
far too much of this shown, generally by a com- 
pletely ignorant gallery; but the repeated call of 
i ' Foul ' ' will leave them no chance for a misunder- 
standing. 

This is by no means an unimportant point. The 
moral influence of a crowd on umpires is gener- 
ally very great, and everything that the Associa- 
tion can do to help them as a class should be done. 
Personally, when I am on a line, I see a pair of 
shoes and hear a racket hit a ball. What is in be- 
tween and who are scattered round about are not 
of importance to me. 

I was much amused once at Wimbledon. I was 
on a base-line during a match that was being 
played in the center court. It was not an im- 
portant game. A New Zealander was playing a 
brother colonial in the All England Plate, if I 
remember. 



138 MODEEN TENNIS 

The crowd was right at my back. I foot-f aulted 
one of the players repeatedly. What those good 
people didn't call me was hardly worth "collect- 
ing," and the worst of it was that most of them, 
I am sure, desired that I should know their esti- 
mate of my capacity. 

Well, I bore up under it, as I usually do in these 
circumstances. Presently a well-known player 
came up and bent over the line. 

"What are you doing to ' Jones,' Vaile?" he 
said. "Is he jumping as usual ?" 

"Yes," I replied. "I think he's practising for 
the standing high jump to-day." 

My friend watched him for a few minutes, 
during which I called him again several times, and 
then saying, "He's worse than usual to-day, I 
think," strolled off, leaving behind him a much 
subdued gallery. 

The New Zealander told me the sequel. His 
opponent had recently arrived in England from 
one of the overseas dominions. As a matter of 
fact, he was a fairly well-known player, who had 
been away from England for some time, during 
which I had "descended on it." 

When they reached the club-house he said to 
George W. Hillyard, Secretary of the All-England 
Club, "Who was that fellow on the base-line who 
kept calling faults 'on' me? I don't think he 
knows what a fault is." 

"Oh, that was P. A. Vaile," said Hillyard, and 



FOOT-FAULTS 139 

again the "gallery" was a little less vociferous. 
So, it will be seen, that if one desires to assist 
in wiping out this very great abuse, which prom- 
ises to do much to spoil the game, one must be 
prepared good-naturedly to put up with a lot of 
abuse and rudeness from ignorant and angry 
people, hoping that the ignorant may learn and 
that the angry may, as they generally do, see the 
error of their ways. 

It is impossible to over-emphasize the duty of 
foot-fault umpires to call foot-faults most strictly, 
and of players to receive their decisions like 
gentlemen and sportsmen. Galloping over the 
line in the mad, and frequently unscrupulous and 
speculative, charge for the net bids fair to kill 
the ground-game, in many ways the finest portion 
of tennis. 



THE LADIES 

I have read, I think, every book that has been 
published on tennis during the last fifteen years, 
and one thing that I have always resented is 
the half-contemptuous manner in which the ladies 
get turned off with about three or four pages at 
the end of the book. 

After thinking it over I have come to the con- 
clusion — the only conclusion possible, it seems to 
me— that this is not deliberate rudeness, is not 
indeed even due to the feeling that woman is an 
inferior tennis-creature, but that it has simply 
arisen from a "want of ignorance' ' (as Paddy 
said) of the subject of my discourse. 

Speaking quite seriously, it has always seemed 
to me that the ladies' tennis has been treated as 
quite a subsidiary matter. Now this is not as it 
should be. We have much for which to be thank- 
ful to the ladies, and in tennis, as in everything 
else, I think it will be readily admitted that we 
could not get on without them, and many of them, 
both here and abroad, have done much by personal 
example, skill, and active assistance, to elevate the 
game to the position.it now holds, which yet, I 
have no hesitation in saying, is not that position to 
which its merit entitles it, for there are few, if any, 

140 



THE LADIES 141 

finer games, as it is one which calls for most, if 
not all, of those qualities that go to make a man or 
a woman. Courage, stamina, skill, alertness both 
mental and physical, self-restraint, patience, deter- 
mination, perseverance, equanimity under adverse 
circumstances, are some of the qualifications, and 
downright hard work the portion of him or her 
who would absolutely excel at this game. 

Now I want you to understand 1 ' right here, ' ' my 
fair readers, that every word in this book is in- 
tended for you. The men may certainly read it, 
and accept the benefit of it if they desire to do so, 
but you must understand that there is hardly a 
statement, an explanation, or a diagram which is 
not intended for your benefit. The highest stand- 
ard of practical tennis of the present day is 
that which our men champions have attained, and 
so many of our ladies are now playing the game 
so well, and are showing such wonderful stamina 
and agility, and, above all things, " mixing' ' their 
game so judiciously, that I have again no hesi- 
tation in saying that all I have written, and prob- 
ably all I shall write, is intended for the ladies. 

You may ask where you come in in men's 
doubles. Even those, so whole-hearted am I in 
this matter, are meant for you also, and here, with 
the advancing tendencies of the age, I am glad to 
see and welcome you in your invasion of the 
men's old-time territory. No longer are you con- 
tent to hang round the base-line and indulge in 



142 MODEEN TENNIS 

interminable rests of semi-lobs. One of you in 
a double will quite often be found at the net look- 
ing for any soft stuff that may be wandering 
about, and it is only a question of a little more 
time, a little more physical energy, a little more 
scientific training, and you will be found ranged 
alongside your sister at the net presenting an im- 
pregnable wall to anything except a lob. Already 
many of you come up to the net in a most judicious 
manner, and volley really well, and it is only by 
mixing your game thus that you can sustain ladies' 
tennis at its present high standard. 

I have a few more remarks to make to you here 
and elsewhere, but again I desire to impress upon 
you most forcibly that everything I have written 
about' the game is meant for you, and that I am 
not contenting myself with letting it be thought 
that there is only a little bit of this book for you, 
for that is not so. 

Now as to your game. I should strongly advise 
you to cultivate the overhead services. They are 
the most effective. As to whether you have suffi- 
cient stamina to continue using them throughout 
a tournament, I can not, of course, speak. You 
will soon find out about that, but even if you can 
not, they are most valuable as a change. If you 
can not serve the overhead services, or being able 
to serve them, desire to rest yourself, you must 
fall back on practically the only one left you, and 
that is the underhand forehand cut service with 



THE LADIES 143 

plenty of work on it, shown at Fig. 10. Don't be 
afraid to make it curl. This is by no means a 
service to be despised. Well delivered, it takes a 
good man frequently all his time to make a very 
effective return off this service, for it breaks out 
of court and keeps low, working all the time. It 
is opposite the highest part of the net, and unless 
it is returned sharply across the middle of the net 
or by a good lob, it has a fair chance of coming 
near the net-man ; also the work on it and its low 
bound make it by no means an ideal ball to lob. 
As a matter of fact, well played, this service is 
very near the reverse overhead service (one of 
the most effective) minus a little pace, so that 
if you do occasionally, or always even, have to 
fall back on it do not be disheartened and consider 
it a sign of weakness, because perhaps your oppo- 
nent is sending you overhead stuff which really 
may not be so effective as your more unassuming 
deliveries. Eemember always to vary your pace, 
the place where your ball pitches, and the amount 
of work on the ball. Don't get stereotyped. 
There is a lot of room for variety in this one 
service. 

Now I come to a question of supreme impor- 
tance to lady tennis-players, and that is volleying. 
It is amazing how few ladies, comparatively 
speaking, volley really well. This is not because 
they can not. It is in many cases purely a want 
of moral courage and knowledge, and I will guar- 



144 MODEBN TENNIS 

antee to make a reasonably competent volleyer of 
any lady with a good eye. 

I have many a time been amused by my fair 
pupil, with an excellent overhead service, de- 
claring dejectedly that she knows it is impossible 
for her to volley. When I have explained to her 
that every time she gets in an overhead service, 
barring the fact that the ball has not dropt very 
far, she is playing one of the very hardest over- 
head volleys — if indeed it be not the very hardest 
— she generally begins to pluck up courage, but 
always assures me she knows she can not hit it 
back after the " other girl" or the "horrid man" 
on the other side has hit it. This is the strength 
of feminine imagination. I then invite her gently 
to the net, and ask her if she will hold her racket 
stiffly an inch or two on her side of the net and 
above it. I then show her that a ball that hits 
the racket will jump back of its own rebound. I 
make her stand away a little further until the 
rebound will no longer do it. All the time she 
is becoming accustomed to the idea that the mere 
meeting of a ball in flight with a stiff wrist, and 
the face of the racket at a proper angle, will pro- 
duce an excellent volley close to the net. After I 
have got so far it is generally easy to induce her to 
let herself go a little more, and she makes a few 
good shots off easy balls, then misses one not so 
easy, and turns to me with a heart-breaking little 
wail of " There, I know I car-r-r-n't do it!" quite 




R. N. Williams 2d — FOREHAND DRIVE 



This shows where Williams inaccuracy on his forehand comes 
from. He is off the line in his grip. II.' slices his drive instead 
of using top. Compare his absence of footwork with the position 
of Brookes. This is the difference between correct form in foot- 
work and none. 

Plate 28 



THE LADIES 145 

oblivious of the fact that the odds are three to one 
in her favor — or have been — and that she is get- 
ting on quite nicely. 

I am mentioning this latter little trait, not with 
any desire to be funny at my pupil's expense, but 
because it is really very important. The moral 
effect on a lady of a missed smash or volley always 
seems to me to be about seven times what it is on 
a man. I have seen in a ladies' championship 
doubles when it was set all, 5 — 4, and 40 love, the 
little girl on the leading side, who had been volley- 
ing really well, miss a volley, which certainly was 
an easy one, and then retire disconsolately to the 
base-line when she should have been attacking 
for all she was worth and taking every risk rather 
than retreat. The game was called 5 all, 6 all, 
and was ultimately won by the retreating vol- 
leyer's side at 8 — 6; but the moral effect of that 
one missed volley at a critical stage was nearly too 
much for her. Ladies must fight against this and 
go on the general average, always remembering 
that altho it may possibly hearten up their oppo- 
nents, a missed volley counts no more than a 
bungled ground-shot, and they must remember 
that unless they are physically deficient and have 
such bad eyes that they are not fit to play — and 
they will never admit that — they all can volley, 
especially if they start, as I indicate, at the net; 
and let me tell you, my fair reader, that, in a 
ladies' double, one who can volley well, even as I 



146 MODEEN TENNIS 

indicate, is no mean partner, for with your oppo- 
nents on the base-line the drop volley is a deadly 
shot. 

Practically all of that in my general remarks 
on tactics which yon are physically able to carry 
ont is for yonr benefit. Yon will probably find 
that yon can not run in as mnch as the men, and 
for that reason yon must husband your strength 
and only go in on good length or well-placed balls, 
which look like a good thing at the net ; but once 
you have decided to go in, get there with all con- 
venient speed, and if your ball is likely to make 
it difficult for your opponent to reply with a good 
lob, get right up to the net. In my chapter on 
singles you will see that I emphasize this point. 

There is one matter that I must refer to par- 
ticularly here. Every lady whom I have seen 
starting to learn tennis watches the ball carefully 
and anxiously until it strikes the ground. Then 
there is a little rustle, a little rush, a big sweep of 
the racket in the air, and a little scream as the 
ball pursues the even tenor of its way. Lady be- 
ginners invariably run in too close to the ball. 
Were I teaching an absolute beginner, the first 
exercise I should give her would be in judging 
distance. I should make her stand without a 
racket and gage the flight and bound of the ball 
so that it should alight on its second bound two 
feet to the right of her left foot. When she could 
do this accurately I should give her the racket. 



THE LADIES 147 

Many ladies, even experienced players, have 
this fault in a modified degree ; that is to say, they 
are not quick enough in judging the flight of the 
ball the moment it leaves their opponent's racket. 
They wait until it is in their court before they 
start running. As a matter of fact, the moment 
it has left your opponent's racket you must see 
where it is going, and run to meet it. If by her 
backward swing preparatory to striking, and the 
position of her body, considering also the openings 
in your court, you can anticipate the direction the 
ball will take before it is struck, you will under- 
stand that you have so much more time to be in 
position to meet the ball. 

Everything that I have said with regard to the 
position of the feet must be carefully observed, 
as on this depends both the grace and effective- 
ness of your strokes, and above everything be 
careful of your backhand stroke. You seem to 
fall into the forehand position naturally. Unless 
you carefully follow the instructions given or get 
some one to show you, it is "odds on" you will 
get a wrong style for your backhand. 



THE SINGLE GAME 

One of the greatest faults committed by tennis- 
players is that of endeavoring to win outright off 
an unsuitable ball, instead of being content to get 
it back with good length or position, or both, and 
waiting until there is a fair chance of finishing 
the rest. 

Perhaps this fault is in no case more apparent 
than in the return of the service, which you re- 
peatedly see driven into the net a foot down. 
Now this might be excusable where your opponent 
is rushing at you and you can not get him out of 
your mind, which indeed it is very hard to do, 
but how often do we see it done when the opposing 
player is calmly waiting on the base-line for your 
return. As you have quite two feet above the net 
to put up a good length medium pace return, and 
you have driven it into the net a foot below the 
tape, you are only three feet below where you need 
have been, and with a certain ace against you, 
instead of being up at the net waiting for the 
return of a well-pitched ball, with a reasonable 
chance of bringing off a volley that should count 
to you. Lay this to heart. It is unquestionably 
one of the chief faults of most, and particularly 
of young, players. 

148 




Thomas C. Bitxdy — Playing a Chop 
This is a very fine example of Mr. Bundy's clever chop stroke. 




Thomas f. BUNDY— PLATING A CHOP 
This is the finish of Mr. Bundy's chop stroke. Notice the ver- 
tical race o!' the suddenly arrested racket. These two pictures 
are a valuable lesson In this scientific and little-understood stroke. 



I'l \TK 29 



THE SINGLE GAME 149 

To my mind there is, speaking from a purely 
theoretical point of view, only one way to play a 
single, and that is to play from or close behind the 
base-line until you have either got your opponent 
out of position, or have delivered such a well- 
placed or effective service or return that you are 
justified in advancing to the net with the object 
of volleying your opponent's return. 

Many players, particularly Americans, consis- 
tently run in on their service, and on every pos- 
sible chance and many impossible ones. It is a 
good fault, and I am inclined to be lenient toward 
it. Of course, in following up your 'service you 
have not much time for consideration, and you 
may and do no doubt get in, and score off lots of 
stuff that theoretically is not good enough to go 
up on. You commit an error in theory, but the 
end justifies the means. I consider that every ball 
that is good enough, be it service or return, should 
be followed to the net, I say "to" the net — not to 
the service-line — but I do not think that promis- 
cuous rushing in is to be encouraged, and, given 
two men of equal skill, the persistent rusher will 
go down to him who chooses his opportunity.* 

No one can be a greater advocate of the volley 
than I. It is positively painful to me to see big, 
strong, active men dancing from side to side of the 



* This is as sound now as when it was written. Wilding-, 
in recent years, has been a conspicuous example of mixing his 
game. 



150 MODEEN TENNIS 

base-line, exchanging long smites from end to end 
of the court, occasionally coming in to the service- 
line, and welting an inoffensive ball on the bound 
and then scuttling back to the base-line, instead 
of getting right in and waiting for a ' ' kill. ' ' That 
I can not pass as ideal tennis, and the men that 
play it can only do so from an ignorance of the 
true joy of the real game and, I firmly believe, of 
their own powers. 

In treating of the single game I shall deal only 
with the game as I consider it should be played, 
because the proper game is really a judicious 
combination of that of the wild rusher and the 
base-line wanderer. 

Service. — I have dealt fully with the different 
kinds of service, but so far I have not touched 
upon them specifically as regards their use when 
in general play. I do not believe in persistent 
running in, any more than I do in consistently 
serving to a man's backhand even tho it is his 
weakest point. He gets used to it and is prepared 
for it. Let him not know when to expect it. That 
is what troubles him. Choose your time and your 
opportunities for following up your service, even 
as you do for following up your returns. As a 
general rule I like to hammer at my opponent's 
weak spot, and with most people this is, as is 
well known, their backhand. Give him every 
opportunity for practise, but now and again with 
a sharp shot across the court let him remember 



THE SINGLE GAME 151 

that lie has a forehand. Serve every ball with a 
definite intention. When I have decoyed a man 
into the center-line by touching him up on the 
backhand for three or four serves, and then have 
finally left him standing by a smart cross-court 
service, I have enjoyed that more than anything 
I got out of the others. That was the one I was 
working for, altho quite willing to take what I 
could get from the previous deliveries. 

It is a good plan now and again to serve straight 
at your man. If the service is fast and well 
placed it frequently gives you an advantage. Re- 
member above everything to try to regulate your 
game so that your opponent may not be able to 
anticipate your shots. Keep him ' 'guessing.' ' 
It is stimulating for his intellect, and there is 
more pleasure for you in it. 

Return of service. — The two commonest returns 
of the service are side-line or cross-court drives, 
and they are both good, especially if your oppo- 
nent is running in on his service. In that case you 
must endeavor to make your cross-court shot 
sharp across the court and also put plenty of lift 
on it. This not only makes it more sure of find- 
ing the side-line and keeping in, but imparts that 
deceptive flight and drop ta it that makes it by 
no means an easy shot to treat effectively even if 
it be reached. Never make up your mind what 
shot you are going to play until the ball is coming 
at you. It will almost certainly be unsuitable if 



152 MODERN TENNIS 

you do. Having made up your mind, stick to it. 
Changing is generally expensive. 

If my opponent is not running in, directly I 
see the least opening I am very partial to a drive 
down the middle of the court with an inclination 
toward the backhand half-court, say anywhere 
within six or eight feet of the center line. This 
stroke has manifold advantages, especially if you 
desire to follow it up, as it closes up the angles of 
the court which are open for the return in quite a 
remarkable manner, and also it runs no risk of 
going out over the side-line, so that your anxieties 
are confined to length. 

Many players think a ball well down the play- 
er's backhand corner is quite the best to go in on, 
but it will be seen from Fig. 26 that this is not 
necessarily so, and, of course, the same argument 
applies to the forehand. 

Figure 26 and the angles thereon will explain 
my idea at a glance when taken in conjunction with 
the letterpress. A player driving a ball from say 
six feet outside the base-line as at C to the corners 
of the courts at A and B is practically covered by 
the man at the net H. If, however, the ball is 
at D the player is driving it into the court which 
it is never even over until it reaches A, and he 
has his quick-dropping backhand cross-court 
shot to E, so that he has practically both sides of 
the court open to him. Of course, you will say a 
man need not drive to the extreme corners. 



THE SINGLE GAME 



153 



i / 
i / 



\ / 
i * 



7 

/ \ 
' 1 



I / 



* \ 
/ / 
' / 

/ I 



\ I 

\ I 

\ I 



\ / 
\ 



w 

H ° 
« W 
P P 

w 

Eh 
O 
y A 

O 

w 

w 



'L 



154 MODERN TENNIS 

That is certainly so. He may endeavor to reach 
the side-lines nearer the service-line, but he will 
have a bad chance of getting beyond the reach of 
your racket with any except a first-class shot if 
you are at H and he is at C, especially if he is the 
least little bit at sea, and you are making him risk 
the side-lines all the time. 

Now as to running up. I would not have you 
for a moment imagine that I desire to throw cold 
water on this habit, altho it is carried to extremes 
by some of our champions, especially when they 
are opposed to men of weaker caliber than them- 
selves, and here it pays handsomely at times. On 
the contrary, I would lay it down as a good general 
axiom, "When in doubt race for the net," as, for 
instance, when you are caught a bit out of position 
in the back court. It is always easier to run up 
than to run back and, 

The moral effect of "bustling" your opponent 
can scarcely be exaggerated. This is very im- 
portant and it is not sufficiently insisted on by ten- 
nis-writers. You who have played golf know only 
too well how, if your unfortunate caddie should 
heave a heavy sigh just as you are about to drive, 
it will, at least so you are prepared to assert after 
you have played, ruin your shot. Is your tennis 
temperament then so utterly dissimilar, or are the 
people who play it so differently constituted that 
it will assist a man to play an accurate shot if he 
sees a wild-eyed, stern-faced figure dancing about 



THE SINGLE GAME 155 

at the net with swinging racket and ready to do 
his best to spoil the return? You may take my 
word for it that the general principles involved, 
and the feelings of the individuals engaged, are 
much the same, and this is one of the strongest 
of my reasons for saying, "When in doubt race 
for the net," and also why I feel more leniently 
disposed toward the consistent, or persistent, 
rusher. 

How to receive the service. — It is very hard to 
lay down any general rule as to your position when 
your opponent is serving, as so much depends 
upon the style of your stroke and the variety of 
service you are dealing with. I have one fixt 
general principle of my own, which I shall give 
for what it is worth. I always keep as nearly 
as possible diagonally opposite to him, and gener- 
ally try to divide the space into which he can 
serve, and the consequent area which the spread 
of the ball in that segment of a circle which is 
available for it can cover, so that I have, roughly 
speaking, half of such segment on either side of 
me, as shown at D, Fig. 27. 

A glance at Fig. 27 will show A the server as 
the center of a circle. Every service is practically 
a radius, and the full available segment of the 
circle for A's service is (except for balls with a 
large amount of cut, and which are naturally 
slower) that space within the lines A C and A B, 
and, generally speaking, it is much less, for I am 



156 



MODERN TENNIS 




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Servis 




P. A. Vaile — Low Backhand Drive 

This plate shows the swingback for a low backhand stroke. 
li begins al the elbow. Notice particularly the position of my 
feet, and thai the weighl is mainlj on the lefl Coot. 



Plate 30 



THE SINGLE GAME 157 

here taking the extremes of exact placing on either 
side. Sometimes you will have to be six feet or 
more outside the base-line, at others you may be 
on the base-line. So much depends upon the 
service, the ground, the wind, and so on, that I 
can not lay down any particular position, but an- 
other useful axiom is "Always be far enough 
back" ; for the same old cry holds good, it is easier 
to advance than to retreat, and moreover is right 
and natural, and you have the added advantage 
of being under way if you want to follow your 
return to the net. 

In Mr. Baddeley's excellent work, published in 
1895, he says every singles-player who desires to 
excel must have a base from which to operate, 
having one base for back-play and another for 
volleying. These bases he appoints, for back- 
play, a little outside the center of the base-line, 
and for volleying, about five to nine feet from the 
center of the net, ' i the nearer the net the better. ' ' 
These last are truly words of wisdom, and must 
not be forgotten. I go further and say, "Don't 
be five feet away." If you have got your oppo- 
nent so that he can probably not play an effective 
lob, "sit right up on the net"; in other words, 
be just so far away from it that you can play 
your stroke without hitting it. 

In the same paragraph, however, Mr. Baddeley 
has these remarkable words: "Immediately he 
has made a stroke he must return to one of these 



158 MODEBN TENNIS 

bases." Why must? Now if he had said "if in 
doubt, ' ' I should have been inclined to agree with 
him, and so modified, I think the advice is sound 
and good at the present day, altho it is twenty 
years old, but as the game is played now, you 
haven't time to be looking for your base. Imagine 
yourself, having played a ball wide on the back- 
hand, racing for your base. You know the chances 
are ten to one the return will go away to the other 
side, and you do not think of checking your gallop 
on the central base. Players should always re- 
member this, that generally speaking it is in one of 
two directions that the return must come. Mathe- 
matically it is even money it will go in the direction 
farthest from you. The tennis odds are at least 
fifteen to one it will. This is good enough 
to back every time. Eace for that place. Now 
and again it will come back to where you were, 
and it is hard to check your run, return, and play 
a good shot, but my theory is sound, as you will 
see. You can not cover the whole court, and you 
must go where you have the best chance of meet- 
ing the ball. It is a most effective return to drive 
the ball back to the spot whence your opponent 
has started his run, and I am very fond of it, 
but don't do it too often, as he will get wary, and, 
moreover, you are saving him some exertion. 
Make it your aim to give your opponent all the 
exercise you can. Keep him running. Find out 
his sore spot. Then, like a skilful prize-fighter, 




I'. A. Vaii.k- Low Backhand Drive 
Coming "'"" ,h,> ball. Notice that my arm and the racket- 
,1; "" 11 '' are '" the same plane, and thai the greater weight is I1( .w 
on the righl foot. Notice again carefully the position of the feet 



Plate :;i 



THE SINGLE GAME 159 

hit him on it again and again. Keep it going. If 
you find that he dislikes any particular service or 
stroke, don't be stingy with it. I remember play- 
ing one match in which my opponent soon evinced 
quite a loathing for "chops," especially on his 
backhand. He didn't think they were tennis, so 
I gave him the strongest meat of this description 
that I could furnish, and I am afraid he did not 
enjoy his game. It may not sound agreeable, but 
that is the game : once you have found your oppo- 
nent's weakness or pet aversion, keep at it; and 
per contra 7 when you have discovered his strength, 
don't worry about giving him any chances to show 
it, until the match is over. 

It is a mistake in any game of tennis, singles, 
doubles, or mixed, to get "nxt" during a rest. 
Once the ball is in play the player should be 
"going" till it is dead, and even before it is in 
play mind you are not too set. Do not, as I have 
seen some players do, stand at the net with legs 
wide-straddled, but be in such a position that you 
can "get off the mark" instantly. 

I want you to remember particularly the cross- 
court backhand shot, D E, Fig. 26. It is an invalu- 
able passing shot, and it is astonishing how close 
to the net you can drop it, especially if you have 
put a fair amount of lift on it. The same applies, 
in a somewhat less degree I think, altho theoretic- 
ally they are exactly similar, to the corresponding 
shot on the forehand. 



160 MODEEN TENNIS 

Many players, in fact most, do not take full 
advantage of the facilities offered by the lifting 
drives for sharp cross-court shots. Of course, 
there is the objection that if it is not an outright 
score you let your man up, and you also risk going 
out at the side-line, but it is a shot that should 
be more cultivated than it is by the great body of 
players. 

Most players think it is essential to drive at a 
man who is running in. As a matter of fact, a 
slow shot, especially if it be quick-dropping, is 
very often much harder for him to play. With the 
drive the pace of the ball helps him. With the 
slow shot, if he gets to it, he has to do the hitting 
at the end of his run, and frequently the result is 
not satisfactory, as this class of return requires 
better judgment and timing than most players are 
prepared to give it on the run; also, it must be 
remembered that the ball generally has to be hit 
upward, which makes it worse still for the vol- 
leyer. Some of the Australian players are won- 
derfully good at these slow passing shots. 

When in position at the net do not volley back 
down the center of the court if your opponent is 
up also. I have seen good players throw away 
countless points on this. Play the ball at an acute 
angle across the court with a smart, crisp volley. 
This is the advantage of being right at the net. 
If you are volleying from near the service-line it 
follows that you can not get the sharp angles. 




P. A. Vaile — Low Backhand Drive 

This is the most remarkable picture of a backhand drive ever 
taken. The ball can be seen moving from the center 
racket. Notice the arm with the elbow pointing to the net, and 
that the forearm ami the handle of the racket are in tin same 
Itlune. 

Plate 32 



THE SINGLE GAME 161 

The Lob.— I do not think I have much to add to 
what I have said about the lob. It is a stroke 
which should be carefully cultivated, as its value 
can not be overestimated. It is a good point to 
lob your opponent, if he has the sun in his face 
and is bothered by it at all. If he replies in kind 
when you change sides and the sun worries you, 
let the lob bound and either attempt to kill it at 
the top of its bound or reply by a lob. The lob 
can be played with wonderful accuracy with the 

c 



/ \ 

/ * 

> \ 

' \ 

/ \ 

U 1 \* 

Figure 28 

Showing Theory of Halving the Distance for Lobs Instead 

of Playing for the Base-Line 

back cut or chop, but for all general work I think 
the plain-face shot is good enough— unless you 
find the other suits you better — and if the idea of 
halving the distance be carried out, I think it will 
be found to increase the accuracy in length. Fig. 
28 will illustrate what I mean. It may not suit 
every player, but it is worth a trial. In Fig. 28, 
B on the base-line is lobbing to the other base-line 
at A. Instead of thinking about the point A let 
him concentrate his energies on putting the ball 



162 MODEEN TENNIS 

up to C at the top of its flight. This you will say 
is a distinction without a difference. Perhaps it 
is, but it is long odds you have never tried it. Do 
so. 

There is one point about a cut lob which is of 
value and I must not omit to mention it. If the 
work on it is sufficient, it follows that the bound 
is untrue. Now it is a very remarkable thing how 
rarely you see a player anticipate an untrue bound 
in a lob (altho in general work it is often done), 
and on account of this peculiarity I have scored 
many a point with them. This shows how little 
heed is paid to what the ball is doing in the air. 
The player is generally racing back, and in many 
cases he just gets there, when, to his surprize, the 
ball either breaks in at him, for he will generally 
be playing it forehand, and it is generally a fore- 
hand cut, or it jumps up straight, and so he has to 
hit it either in a cramped position, or perhaps a 
foot further forward than he calculated, and you 
know what this means. It is not unusual, and, of 
course, is perfectly natural, for a cut lob to bound 
up very straight. It is not like the skimming chop 
across the net, with low trajectory, that I have 
referred to. It is dropping fairly straight with 
backward rotary action, and no particular 
amount of forward impetus to fight against the 
back rotation, whereas the low cut which shoots 
has much. This may be a small point. The differ- 
ence between the scientific player and the ball- 




I'. A. Vaile — Low Backhand Drive 

This is a most important picture, showing the t'orea 
the turnover, which produces the natural finish of 
stroke Notice again the position of the feet. 



•m durin 

this lin 



Plate 33 



THE SINGLE GAME 163 

hitter is that the former knows all the small points, 
as well as the others — and uses them. 

I have not dealt yet with the importance of 
anticipating your opponent's return. With some 
this is quite a gift, and I have seen very remark- 
able instances of it, but those who have not the 
gift may, by using their eyes and brains carefully, 
soon acquire the habit. It is not enough to follow 
the flight of the ball from the very moment it 
leaves the racket of your opponent — if you can do 
more. 

You must endeavor to get right down to his 
style. See how he " produces' ' his shots. Note 
the swing of his racket, the angle at which it is 
swung back, the way he stands to make each par- 
ticular stroke, and the result, in flight and bound, 
of that stroke. Note also the angle of his body to 
the net. If you do this carefully and well, you 
will soon know when his racket is at the extent of 
its backward swing, what its mission is, and when 
you have acquired this knowledge you have gained 
that which will save you valuable time, and have 
laid the foundation of the habit of observation 
which will stand you in good stead in many a 
match. If you can see him playing before you 
have to deal with him, there can not be any pos- 
sible objection, and it will save you valuable time 
when you are facing him across the net. 

I had an amusing instance of the value of antici- 
pation once. A "colt" of mine was playing a 



164 MODERN TENNIS 

match. His opponent had a fairly good forehand, 
and a straight backhand shot which he always 
played with a kind of forward poke, which said 
plainly "Here it's coming, look out. ,, He couldn't 
play a cross-court backhand shot without slewing 
round exactly where the ball was going. My 
friend had not much knowledge of tactics and fed 
his opponent's forehand most kindly, until he was 
two sets "down." Between sets, I said, "I sup- 
pose you are trying to lose this match ?" 

"What do you mean? Of course I'm not," he 
said. 

"Well, if that's so," I said, "leave his forehand 
alone. Whenever you see his backhand poke 
coming, get right up to the net in the center of the 
half-court. Don't bother about the rest. Con- 
sider your court is thirteen feet six inches wide, 
and you'll surely win, altho he is two sets to love, 
for your condition is as good as his. Keep a good 
length down the center of the backhand half- 
court." 

My friend could guess eggs when he saw the 
shells. He played the "center-theory" on the 
half-court and watched for the premonitory symp- 
toms of that poke, and considered the court only 
half its real width. He won that match by three 
sets to two, and I don't think his opponent has 
forgiven me yet, as he had a shrewd suspicion 
that I had a finger in the pie. 

If you are hard prest and your opponent is 




P. A. Vaile — Low Backhand Drive 

This is the finish of the stroke. . Notice in all the pictures 
the tension of my left arm ami wrist which balance the work 
Of my right. See that the forearm has turned and the thumb now 
rides above the racket, observe that the weighl is on the righl 
foot. Note the position of the feet, and the /inninss of the finish. 



Plate 34 



THE SINGLE GAME 165 

in position at the net, you should endeavor to lob 
over his head. If this is not convenient, and 
neither of the side-lines, nor either of the cross- 
court passing shots I have referred to, is open, 
you should drive hard and low, preferably with 
plenty of lift, straight at him. This at all times, 
as I think I have before mentioned, is a good shot, 
as so few players get up close enough to play it 
before it has started " diving,' ' and then, even if 
it be played, it can not be severely handled. I do 
not, however, advocate the indiscriminate use of 
this shot, as I always prefer to keep the ball away 
from my opponent as much as possible. I have 
seen so many shots which were apparently im- 
possible for the striker-out to negotiate, not only 
returned but converted into winning aces, that I 
always like to see the ball go past my opponent. 

On the same lines I would always say, have a 
try for everything, especially in a match, unless 
you need to conserve your energy. You never 
know exactly how a ball will bound — side, at bil- 
liards, and rotation, at tennis, are strange things 
— and sometimes it will wait for you in quite an 
accommodating manner, and you say, "If I had 
started soon enough, I could have got that"; be- 
sides, the moral effect on your adversary of turn- 
ing losing shots into winning ones must not be 
forgotten. Never consider a half-volley out of 
your reach until you have tried for and missed it. 

It is a true saying that you never know what 



166 MODERN TENNIS 

you can do until you try, and the performance of 
an absolute novice once filled me with admiration. 
It was a high, dead-dropping lob on the base-line. 
With the confidence born of ignorance, he took on 
the smash. He missed the ball. As it bounded 
he let out at it a mighty swipe that would, had it 
hit it, have carried it into the next parish. Again 
he missed, and, swinging completely round with 
the force of his shot and no doubt somewhat 
fatigued by his previous efforts, he played the 
dropping ball quite soberly and returned it. This 
proves my contention. I am sure he didn't know 
he could do it until he tried — neither did L 

Never ' ' ease up ' ' when you are playing a match. 
It is frequently a fatal mistake, for the effect is 
twofold. When you want to get going again you 
find you can not, and moreover your opponent has 
become heartened up, and is coming at you with 
renewed hope and vigor. If you are fit you should 
go right out as soon as you can. 



DOUBLES 

Genekally speaking, the double game calls for 
more severity in the strokes than does the single. 
The principal shots in a double are : — 
The center drive. — This is the most useful 
return in a double. You have no risk of going 
over the side-line, and so long as you escape 
the server's partner and get your drive in before 
the server is quite in position, you have a good 
chance of scoring, and, moreover, if he has come 
up a bit wide, you have the chance of going clean 
between your opponents. There is also always on 
your side the element of uncertainty which fre- 
quently exists as to who is to take such balls ; 
moreover, not only do you, as I have already said, 
not take any risk as to your side-line, but in the 
little time which is left to the player running up 
to decide as to his shot, he will very frequently 
give you the benefit of the doubt as to your length, 
and if the return has been a very telling one you 
will get a weak answer or a miss. These are two 
strong points in its favor, for I don't care who 
the champion is, when he is on the run and meet- 
ing a fast drive with plenty of lift on it, he must 
be a wonder to decide within a yard where it will 
pitch, and I say without any hesitation, that man 
doesn't exist. Therefore, one does not care to 

167 



168 MODERN TENNIS 

take the chance of letting it go, and if he does, 
and sees it pounce down on the base-line a few 
times, he will soon alter his tactics. The flight 
of this shot well played is so deceptive that it does 
not pay to let it go, unless yon are certain it is 
going out. 

The cross-court drive. — This is either a fore- 
hand or backhand drive, preferably with plenty 
of lift on it, and the sharper across court the 
better. Well played, it is a most awkward return 
to reach and deal with effectively. It can be 
played as a slow passing shot at a sharp angle 
across the court, and, well executed, is most useful. 

The side-line drive. — This is a pretty shot when 
well played. It must not be attempted too often, 
but as a corrective to any wandering tendencies 
on the part of the man at the net toward the 
center of the court, it is very valuable. Do not 
forget that here is the highest part of the net. 

The lob. — This is a useful shot, especially if the 
server's partner stands very close in. Do not try 
to lob too close to the side-lines, but above every- 
thing go for length, and if you have any doubt 
about outlobbing your opponents, toss your lob 
high so that you may have a better chance to 
retreat, and await the threatened "kill," and also 
because it is a more difficult ball to deal with. A 
high lob has a lot of "acquired impetus" by the 
time it reaches the racket, and it is astonishing 
how many of them find their way into the net. 



DOUBLES 169 

In a double each player should attend to his 
own lobs, and if my remarks about downward 
impetus, want of moral courage, and not attempt- 
ing to volley downward, have been duly considered, 
he will surely smash them most effectively, as is 
his duty. If, however, he can not do that, or 
return the ball with medium pace good length, he 
must let it bound, and if his opponents are not in 
a strong position at the net, which they ought to 
be, he may smash it after it has risen, or lob it 
back. In volleying a dead-dropping lob, by which 
I mean one that is falling straight down, you 
must be, as with your service, practically under 
it for your stroke. If you attempt to play it too 
far in front of you, you will almost certainly hit 
it down. This applies with nearly equal force to 
any overhead volley, but in the matter of an ap- 
proaching volley, especially if it has any upward 
tendency, you have slightly more margin, as its 
flight will to a slight extent counteract your error, 
whereas the flight of the lob will accentuate it. 

The server should be under way almost before 
the ball has left his racket and should lose no time 
in getting to the net. You will ask how this may 
be accomplished. As a matter of fact you can 
actually be under way before the ball has left your 
racket and yet commit no foot-fault. The Ameri- 
cans are great foot-faulters, but I saw some of 
them, whose service was unquestionable, so trans- 
fer their weight that at the moment of the impact 

40 



170 MODERN TENNIS 

of the racket on the ball their heads and shoulders 
were over two feet inside the service-line, with 
both feet still behind the line, and they were prac- 
tically falling, but the moment the ball was hit the 
right foot was smartly brought forward ; but they 
were actually under way before the ball was hit. 
I am a great believer in a double in the service 
down the center of the court. A reference to Fig. 
29 will show that this service practically robs the 
striker-out of, or at least removes the sting from, 
two of his most important shots, the side-line 
drive and the sharp cross-court shot. I do not 
think this is sufficiently considered. The server 
should take all balls which come down the center 
of the court and to his own side of that. 

The server should vary his position at the base- 
line as little as necessary. Personally, I stand 
about the middle of the single half-court, and I 
think it is not a bad base to operate from. In 
serving down the center of the court I stand closer 
in. Your opponent soon takes this as an intima- 
tion that such a service is coming. Convince him 
by a sharp cross-court service that he is wrong. 

The server's partner should stand close up to 
the net, as close, indeed, as practicable, without 
running the risk of hitting the net. He may re- 
treat a little for the second service, which is gener- 
ally weak, but if this has anything like a good 
length, unless he anticipates a lob, I can not see 
any reason for going back very far. The server's 



DOUBLES 



171 




172 MODEEN TENNIS 

partner should volley everything he can reach 
comfortably, without leaving his side-line too ex- 
posed, and should attempt everything that looks 
as if it would not be within reach of his partner 
as he runs in. Before the return is made he should 
be in such a position as to cover his side-line. At 
or immediately before the actual moment of the 
return, especially if it looks like a center drive, 
he should open out a little, and even if he does not 
actually move very far, I think it is always well 
to be seen moving toward the center. Moral 
effect is an important factor in tennis, and 
the mere fact of his movement toward the center 
of the court will often make his opponent add a 
foot or two so as to get away from his anticipated 
volley, and so play more into the hands of the 
man running up. I am inclined now and again to 
be a bit " risky' ' in tempting my opponent to drive 
down the side-line especially with his backhand. 
You must remember that he has the highest part 
of the net to get over, also that he can not do it 
every time with sufficient accuracy to pass in the 
small margin over " cover' ' which you will allow 
him, and that by taking some slight risks in this 
respect you will probably more than compensate 
for it by what you will "pick up" near the center, 
but if you find it is not paying drop it at once. 
Of course, if your partner's service is down the 
middle of the court you can stand much wider 
from the side-lines, as shown in Fig. 29, as a good 



DOUBLES 173 

side-line passing shot is then practically elimi- 
nated from your opponent's available returns. A 
is the server, and C the striker-out. It will be 
seen that practically the extremes available to 
for a drive are C E and C F, so that on a service 
of this nature the server's partner can certainly 
cover more of the net than on a cross-court serv- 
ice. I have very strong opinions on the value of 
this " center- theory. ' ' It seems to me that, well 
carried out, it shuts up the angles of the court 
available for your opponent in a remarkable 
manner; moreover, in serving from right to left 
you are generally, of course, serving to your op- 
ponent's backhand. I have a very strong objec- 
tion, as a general rule, to a cross-court service 
which goes wide out at the side. This gives your 
opponent a chance of a passing shot down the side- 
line from outside the court into it, which naturally 
allows him a much wider margin, see D A, Fig. 
26, and it also gives him the chance of a very 
telling cross-court drive over the lowest part of 
the net at a very sharp angle. You must not think 
it unimportant that the shot has the lowest por- 
tion of the net available for it in its natural return, 
for six inches count in this game, especially if 
your ball is not a "climber." 

I have before laid stress on the straight drive at 
the man at the net. It is frequently useful in a 
double, but don't tempt Providence by playing it 
too often, and when you do, try your best to make 



174 MODERN TENNIS 

it straight at his middle. It is a very awkward 
ball to return effectively, as it so often catches 
him out of position. 

There is some difference of opinion as to the 
position in which the striker-out's partner should 
stand. My own opinion is that they should be 
nearly always working in a line so that the 
base-line and a line drawn through the two 
players shall be parallel to each other. The idea 
in my mind of a perfect double combination is 
that they form the front half of a pair of parallel 
rulers. The back half is fixt and is the base-line. 
I can not get it out of my head that, in the matter 
of getting to the net, the two men should be one 
as much as possible. Many players favor the 
idea of the striker-out's partner standing between 
the net and the service-line for every service, 
except a very severe one, in which case they are 
inclined to think he should be back with his part- 
ner. Now, my idea of two players working to- 
gether is that they are always to be in such a 
position that one of them can almost reach any- 
thing that may come along. It always seems to 
me that if the striker-out's partner is standing 
inside the service-line it leaves a very nasty gap 
for cross-court returns, and exposes him to some 
most awkward shots at his feet. If the striker- 
out should try a side-line drive down his oppo- 
nent's backhand, and it be met by a good volley 
across court, there is quite a large gap for it to 



DOUBLES 175 

go through. I think such a position can only be 
defended by playing the game successfully from 
it, and it is not given to many to do this. If I 
were speaking purely from the standpoint of 
doubles, as played in England, I might view it 
with more favor, but I have seen tennis played 
in many lands, and particularly in the double 
game — now listen to the heresy — I am not an 
admirer of English tactics. There is an absence 
of the brilliancy that I look for in doubles, and 
expect here more than anywhere, but am disap- 
pointed. I consider that English double players 
volley from too far back in the court. They are 
consequently more frequently than otherwise 
playing their volleys upward, instead of, as they 
should be doing, downward. Their leisurely trot 
to about three yards from the net amuses me. 
This is where I excuse the rusher. If your return 
or service is good enough to prevent your oppo- 
nent making an accurate lob, why do you want to 
wait an inch further from the net than is neces- 
sary? He won't try to lob every time. Some of 
those he does try will be "good business ,, for 
you ; some which outlob you, you can get back to 
and return the compliment; so I say, get right 
up and be in position to kill the ball by sharp 
cross-court volleys played downward, instead of 
exchanging volleys from your feet, of which, from 
their length and lowness, you can not make other 
than mere returns, as it is impossible if you are 



176 MODEEN TENNIS 

far back to get the deadly cross-court angles of 
which I speak. As a matter of fact, the Austra- 
lians play a far more brilliant and attractive game 
than the English. They lose no time in getting to 
the net, and their volleying is excellent. How- 
ever, as to this matter of position you have my 
views, and I have told you what many others think. 
Try them both, and do that which suits your com- 
bination best. In some respects your partner 
standing in while you are receiving is an advan- 
tage, provided you can get alongside him quickly 
enough after your return. He has not had to 
run and is ready and waiting, but if your return 
has not been good enough to enable you to race 
right up, then I reckon you have the worst of the 
deal at once. 

As I said before, I can not get out of my head 
the notion that in a perfectly combined double the 
two men should be one. My idea of this perfect 
combination is a big edition of the Siamese twins. 
In my imagination the two men are connected as 
by a rod. If one plays the shot the same intelli- 
gence rules the pair. If it is good the twins will 
follow it in (because they can not be separated), 
and be in a position still relatively the same dis- 
tance apart, and the same distance from the net; 
in fact, in my mind I class them as one being at 
all times, except when the server is attending to 
his business on the base-line, and then, of course, 
he must effect the junction again as quickly as 








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DOUBLES 177 

possible. If his service is good enough he should 
be able to get right up and take his volley before 
it is dropping much. Some of the Australians are 
very good at this. I feel certain that for the vast 
majority of players this game is the better, but 
you "pays your money and you takes your 
choice.' ' 



From my criticism of English tennis it will be seen that in 
the first edition of this work I stated that the most serious 
defect in English doubles is the position of the striker-out's 
partner. It is simply stupid, and I have at all times written 
strongly against it. In the last international contest for the 
D wight Davis Cup Messrs. Doherty abandoned the English 
position, and used the formation I have always insisted on. 
Twice they tried the English position for a short time, 
promptly paid the inevitable penalty, and wisely discarded it. 
This question of tactics may be considered absolutely settled 
against the English formation. [1907.] 

In the recent Davis Cup matches played at Forest Hills, 
Messrs. Brookes and Wilding used the formation that I con- 
demn when they defeated Messrs. McLoughlin and Bundy, but 
McLoughlin was playing much below his usual form that day. 
It is a liberty with the game which may be taken only by a 
team that is "on top" of its opponents. [1915.] 



MIXED DOUBLES 

If my lady pupils should derive the benefit 
which I hope they will from my little lecture on 
volleying, I could easily leave this chapter out, for 
then this game would be nearly men's doubles. 
For fear, however, that they may not make such 
rapid progress as I could wish, I must make a 
few remarks on this game, a game from which I 
have had much enjoyment. 

Generally the lady plays in the forehand court 
and on the base-line and the man at the net, altho 
in the case of one pair who held the English 
Championship the positions were reversed, and 
the lady did the net work, while the man drove 
from the base-line. 

When the man is serving, his partner, unless 
she is a good volley er, must stand a little outside 
the base-line. The man follows up his service. 
In a mixed doubles I have sometimes been accused 
of " poaching' ' volleys. I always answer that it 
is a crime unknown to — at least — my tennis-law. 
The man, in my opinion, should never allow any- 
thing that he can get at to touch the ground. I am 
speaking now of the usual case of the lady play- 
ing on the base-line. 

The man must stand in on the lady's service to 
the opposing lady, and endeavor to kill her return. 

178 



MIXED DOUBLES 179 

He should always be on the move, darting across 
and snapping everything he can possibly get hold 
of, until the opposing lady experiences those sen- 
sations which prompted a fair opponent to say to 
me once, "Oh, I can not keep away from you." 

It is generally hard for the man to do much at 
the net while his partner is serving to the opposing 
man, but it is difficult for him to be more useful 
elsewhere. I always impress upon my lady part- 
ner to keep fairly well toward her side-line, as 
at the net I can cover the greater portion of the 
base-line, and if she does stand wide it means 
that she has so much less running, as the majority 
of returns are cross-court shots. I also firmly 
impress on the ladies the value to them of serving 
down the middle of the court fairly frequently, 
as that again shuts off the usual diagonal or cross- 
court shots to a great extent. 

While her partner is receiving the service the 
lady should stand a little outside the base-line 
and toward her side-line. If she has a weak back- 
hand, she should keep over enough to cover it as 
much as possible without leaving too big a gap 
on her forehand. As in men's doubles, so, and 
more so, in this game I say, apart from the fact 
of its being more " companionable," a man should 
stay back with his partner when she is receiving. 

I have already stated what a liberal interpre- 
tation I put on "poaching." I shall go almost 
further. Unless you are playing against "one of 



180 MODEEN TENNIS 

the best," ladies, you should take great risks of 
being passed on your side of the court as you 
dart across to intercept the opposing lady's re- 
turns to your partner. I carry it to an excess, 
but find it pays. I make my "base," to quote Mr. 
Baddeley, very near the middle of the court, and 
sometimes manage to reach and intercept returns 
by the single side-line. I also take great risks 
by running in on my service right across, in many 
cases beyond the middle of the court, and I find 
that it pays in the long run. In a few rare 
cases where it does not I do not take too long to 
learn my lesson. When badly beaten a few times 
I give it a rest. It may have been only a "flash in 
the pan"; then I resume operations on the old 
lines. History does not always repeat itself. 
There are great reversals of form at cricket after 
the adjournment for afternoon "tea." After my 
adjournment from poaching — I don't admit the 
term — I frequently find the same thing. I have 
said, in speaking of men's play, to keep your oppo- 
nent "guessing." It applies with much more 
force to a lady. Do not let her settle into her game 
if you can help it. Worry her from the start. 
Give a few object lessons in the rotation of the 
ball, as, for instance, now and again a reverse cut, 
which to any but "top-no tellers" is a perfect 
horror. The moral effect of the man's continual 
encroachments often makes the lady drive the ball 
out of court. It is astonishins: how some men 




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MIXED DOUBLES 181 

spoil a lady's game. I know one little scamp, a 
really good player too, who charges up to the net 
and does a few steps of a breakdown. It comes 
off too. He has explained the theory of this shot 
to me, but I do not think you will require it ; at the 
same time, while not being an advocate of gym- 
nastics on the court, I must say that the value of 
1 'bustling' ' is more apparent, perhaps, in a mixed 
double than in any other class of game. 

I am afraid I shall get into hot water if I con- 
tinue to tell the men all the ladies' weak points, 
so I hasten to make amends. A fine shot to get 
away from the worrying man is a diagonal or 
cross-court lob. I say cross-court particularly 
because a low cross-court lob will be much more 
out of his reach than if you try to put it straight 
over his head, for he has to run across and then 
get under it to try and reach it, and moreover it 
is going back toward his partner, and even an 
inveterate aerial annexer, like myself, always has 
the moral effect of "woman" behind him when he 
thinks the lob may touch ground, and does not 
care "to go too far" — and get snubbed. It is a 
very useful shot, and a lady to play a good mixed 
double must be able to lob well, and, indeed, there 
is no reason why she should not, especially if she 
practises dividing the distance as I have recom- 
mended. 

Now there is one thing that often worries ladies 
in a mixed double, and that is when the opposing 



182 MODEEN TENNIS 

man serves underhand cuts. They never seem to 
understand which way they are going to jump. I 
shall give you an infallible rule for circumventing 
the wiles of the deceiver. 

Watch his racket and whichever way that 
swings you may rely upon it that the ball will 
break the opposite way, that is, if he swings from 
right to left the ball will break from left to right 
— this is what he nearly always does — and vice 
versa. When you have once grasped this fact all 
you need to do is to take up your stand for the 
usual break, say four or six feet to your left of the 
line of flight of the ball, unless you intend to play 
it backhand. 

I have one most important piece of advice to 
give every lady player who would excel at this 
game. It is good advice, tho generally dis- 
regarded in the game of life, but absolutely essen- 
tial in mixed doubles; altho neglect of it in the 
ordinary way often results in a perfect "com- 
bined," and that is, "Keep away from the man." 
It is feminine human nature to count the value of 
passing the man as worth about five times that of 
beating the lady, but the umpire only gives it the 
same value, and man is a tricky animal. You can 
not always "pass" him. Sometimes, of course, 
you prefer not to. 



LADIES' SINGLES 

I have very little to say under this heading be- 
cause, as I have already told my lady readers, all 
that I have said in this book is for them, and I 
only insert this heading so that I may emphasize 
this fact and once again impress upon them the 
absolute necessity of acquiring the art of volley- 
ing if they desire to become first-class players, or, 
indeed, to derive the highest amount of pleasure 
from the game that it is capable of affording 
them. 

Eeverting again to my suggestion for acquiring 
the rudiments of the art of volleying, I might 
amplify it to what seems almost an absurd extent, 
yet, as it will help, possibly, one timid player to 
overcome her fear of the ball, I shall risk being 
considered absurd. I would risk more than that 
to see my lady pupils improving as I should wish 
them to in this respect. Some ladies absolutely 
fear the ball may hit and hurt them, nor in a 
measure is it to be wondered at. I have seen 
many a man do a discreet "duck" while yet there 
was a chance. If you really are afraid of the ball, 
if it is coming fast enough to hurt you, keep the 
blade of your racket between it and your face, 
and play it thus, but you must be careful to have 
your racket very firm, so as not to let it be forced 

183 



184 MODEKN TENNIS 

back, and if you can give your racket a smart 
push forward just as the ball is going to strike it 
you will soon get on. For all low volleys my idea 
is that the nearest approximation to this position, 
so far as regards the line of flight of the ball, is 
unquestionably theoretically the most perfect. Of 
course, directly you get confidence you will hold 
your racket as previously instructed. This, as I 
said before, may sound extreme, but so imprest 
am I with the importance to ladies of volleying, 
from every point of view — science, enjoyment, and 
everything — that I would adopt any legitimate 
expedient to coax them up to the net. 

I must impress upon the ladies the value of 
studying carefully the angles of the court. I don't 
think that I have touched emphatically upon this 
point before, but an ideal tennis-player should, in 
theory, have eyes in the back of his head as well 
as in front. You will wonder what for, I suppose. 

Well, it is this. The average player sees only 
what is in front of him, or a very small propor- 
tion of it, and plays to that. The man or woman 
who wants to get right up to the top of the tree 
should have in his or her mind's eye, as the rear- 
gazing optics are not available, exactly where the 
ball which is coming will land. Mentally he or she 
as it comes must follow it to where it will strike 
the ground. For this it is essential that a 
thorough knowledge of the angles of the court 
should be a part of the mental equipment of the 




T. E. Pell — Low Backhand Drive 

Here Mi. Pell is shown coming onto the ball with an ascending 
racket. His weight has been transferred to the right foot, add- 
ing power and accuracy. 



Plate 3; 



LADIES ' SINGLES 185 

true tennis-player. The portion of the court be- 
hind him should be as clearly denned in his mental 
vision as that in front is in his physical. 

How many of us have ever given this a thought % 
How common a thing it is to see balls designedly 
allowed to pass drop well within the court, balls 
which, could your eyes have done a right-about- 
face, would not have gone a foot beyond your head 
before you would have clearly seen that they would 
fall into the court. 

Apropos of this question, I will again refer my 
lady readers to Fig. 26, which deals with center- 
theory. This, in a lady's single, will, to a good 
volleyer, be found of immense value. 

If any of my readers are keen enough to follow 
up this question of angles I would suggest to them 
a series of experiments in them which should prove 
interesting. Let us take, for example, the center- 
theory in the single game. Mark a spot six or 
nine feet behind the center of the base-line. Have 
a number of pointed sticks six feet long. Let two 
of them have red tops, and the others white. The 
red tops are men. Go on to your base behind the 
line and get the best and shortest drive you can on 
to the side-lines which will allow you on either side 
the widest effective passing shot you can make. 
Put in a white flag at each spot. Let your assist- 
ant stand at the net with another white flag. Go 
behind your base, and get all three flags in a line. 
Put in the flag at the net. Repeat the performance 



186 MODEEN TENNIS 

on the other side. Now put your red man in the 
center of the two white flags at the net. Go and 
sit down and think over it. Then stand at the red 
flag and see how much of the net you can cover. 

If you are still keen, do the same thing with 
regard to corner shots. Unless your brain is of a 
most lethargic nature, and in that case you won't 
be troubling with flags — you will find food for 
reflection here. 

If you still have room for more theory, extend 
this process to doubles. If this were carefully 
studied out you would be astonished how accurate 
you would become in anticipating where a ball will 
pitch after it has passed you. 

Call this theory run mad if you like. I have not 
yet given you a chess-board to play your shots off, 
as they do in golf and cricket, altho I may in time. 

It will assist you in taking your best position at 
the net in a wonderful degree when you have dis- 
covered how much of it you can cover on this 
center-theory, and will give you much increased 
confidence. It will show yon,J too r , that wide 
corner shots, especially to a rhan who has a good 
quick-dropping cross-court shot, are by no means 
always the safest to go in on. 

Some people will say this should have been in 
the men's singles division, but I am making no 
exceptions in their favor. If they don't read 
about your singles they will miss it, and you can 
play it off on them. 



LADIES' SINGLES 187 

Before I close this chapter I must really compli- 
ment the ladies upon their great excellence in one 
of the most important branches of the game, their 
length. All through the last All England Cham- 
pionship meeting I was immensely imprest with 
it, the more so as, generally speaking, the men's 
was anything but good. The reason for this is 
that volleying is always the enemy of length. 
Playing against a persistent volleyer, length is 
generally the last thing one wants. 



LADIES > DOUBLES 

I think I shall be excused if I dismiss this sub- 
ject somewhat summarily, for I have dealt with it 
very fully in my general remarks. 

I need only say here, if you can volley well 
enough, and have energy and strength enough, 
play it like a men's double as nearly as you can. 
If only one of you has the above requirements, 
play it as much like a mixed double as you can, 
with the additional advantage of the "man" at 
the net having two poor creatures of the gentler 
sex to worry. 

If neither of you has the above requirements, 
"go out on half-time" and put in the other half 
learning to volley. These are very unscientific 
general directions, but I believe that in the main, 
and taken in conjunction with the rest of the book, 
they will be found to answer. 



188 



PRACTISE 

It is all very well to write it, but I am afraid 
that of what I call practise there is practically 
none. If there were, the game would be played in 
a more scientific manner than it is. 

Practise generally consists of a few sets with 
a friend or friends, and this is not of as much 
service as it should be, because the Englishman, in 
sport, has a considerable amount of the American 
characteristic of wanting to "beat" some one, and 
so instead of practising his scales he is doing 
Chopin — I didn't mean to pun; it was purely 
accidental. Pray pardon me. 

My idea of practise is to get another wild enthu- 
siast — unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, they 
are rare — and to put in a portion of the time 
practising just length. 

When you have had enough of that, toss each 
other up thirty or forty lobs to all parts of the 
court, and practise smashing them. 

Then stand back and put in a quarter of an hour 
lobbing for length, remembering to divide your 
distance as suggested, and lob for the half-way 
house. If it doesn't pay, move the house on a bit ; 
but I am convinced one should not have the idea 
of playing for the base-line in one's mind when 
lobbing. It should be the point in the atmosphere 

189 



190 MODEKN TENNIS 

where you desire gravitation to overcome your 
force that should be the dominant idea in your 
mind. 

Then stand at the net and volley a few drives. 
Step back a yard or two, and get your friend to 
put in a few quick-dropping drives with lots of 
lift, and see what you can do with them. 

After this, experiment with the half-volley, 
especially on your backhand, always remembering 
that this is your " blind shot," and that you must 
struggle with that wandering eye of yours. 

I am still full of suggestions, but I don't want to 
put you off the game by urging too severe a course, 
only I can assure you that I know that so long as 
any scoring is being done you are not really prac- 
tising. You are playing a fellow to whom you 
can owe 15. You will experiment a little, perhaps, 
and he gets a lead on. Then he assumes a look of 
importance, as tho it was no trouble to him, and 
says : "You're a bit off your game to-day." Then 
you say to yourself, "Am I? I'll show you." 
And you go after him. Practise is off for that 
day. 

If you must play rests all the time and want real 
practise, there is only one way to get it. Do not 
call any score while you are trying strokes and 
experimenting. 

I am writing now for the average player. 

Don't play too long at one time, especially if 
you are preparing for a match. In that case three 



PEACTISE 191 

or four good sets three or four days a week accord- 
ing to your strength should about do. Personally, 
I take much more, but I am very "greedy for 
work" of this description. 

Get all the variety you can. Play as many dif- 
ferent styles of players as are available. This is 
more important advice than appears on the face of 
it, and I will tell you why. After you have been 
playing fellows who rush up to the net all the time, 
and you then take on one who plays sound tactics, 
you will frequently find your length quite gone. 
You wonder how it is, and perhaps it will not 
strike you that when playing the volleyers, all you 
cared about was getting past them. You didn't 
care what happened then, and as a matter of fact 
the majority of your strokes would probably have 
been cross-court drives, slow passing shots, and 
low, quick-dropping drives, many of them intended 
to "dive" over the net and strike the ground 
before he could get to them. This, of course, is 
not the best practise for length. 



TOUENAMENT PLAY 

It will be found wise to get your eye in before 
you start. From five to ten minutes should suf- 
fice. You should be the best judge as to how much 
you want. 

Most writers give innumerable instructions 
about not giving up and so on. I have already 
" spread" myself to such an extent that I must 
play the "chop" stroke a little if I can here. 

Generally speaking, if you want to win, take the 
thing seriously from the start. Go at your man 
like a bull-dog, worry him the whole time, never 
miss an opportunity of getting in at him; never 
count him, or yourself, beaten until the match is 
over ; never lose your equanimity, for it is as valu- 
able here as at golf; play your game for all you 
are worth all the while ; in other words — and you 
must do it in this game as in the game of life if 
you desire to excel — play the man. 

If you think you would like to kick the umpire, 
remember that you also have umpired, and prob- 
ably escaped. If you can possibly avoid it with- 
out hurting any one's feelings, never accept an 
umpire in whose decision you have not confidence. 

Do not lightly regard the suggestions of any 
one who knows something of the game, and who 
may be watching your match. Eemember that it 

192 



TOUENAMENT PLAY 193 

is an old and true saying that "Onlookers see most 
of the game," and I don't care what champion 
you are, you can not see as they do. Weigh care- 
fully any such advice, no matter how trivial. I 
will give you an instance of what I mean. A club- 
mate of mine was playing a championship final. 
They started on new balls, of course. If there is 
one thing I am particular about, it is tennis-balls. 
To me, a discolored ball is an abomination. My 
friend won 6 — 2. They took new balls for the 
second set, and went on. My friend won again, 
6 — 3. They started in the third set without 
changing the balls. Everyone knows that the 
bound of a ball alters considerably after it has been 
played with for a set or two, and that the weight 
alters materially. My friend's opponent took the 
third set, 6 — 2. The bound of the ball was suiting 
him; moreover the light was not improving, the 
balls were getting dirty, my friend wears spec- 
tacles, and, worst of all, was beginning to pay 
surreptitious visits to his whisky flask, and the 
"dew" stood on his manly brow — when it didn't 
run. Judge of my horror when I saw them appar- 
ently going on to play with the same balls. In 
practise, it would have annoyed me; in a match, 
it revolted me, both from a tactical and an 
esthetic point of view. 

"Are you going to play with those things?" I 
asked. 

"Yes," he replied. 



194 MODEBN TENNIS 

"Oh, give him the match," I said. 

He stood for a moment in thought, turned, went 
to the umpire, and obtaining new balls, started. 
He got three love, and then just won the fourth 
set, 9 — 7, quite finished, whereas his opponent was 
just coming at him. The change of balls was in 
his favor. Theoretically his opponent, of course, 
should have been as well able to play with the new 
balls, but he was not, and I, who had nothing to 
do but sit and speculate, saw these things. This 
is just an instance of what little things will turn a 
match. Both players admitted that the change of 
the balls at that period meant the match. 

You must not, of course, tender or expect to re- 
ceive any assistance during the play. I refer to 
the period of rest between sets in all instances 
where I have mentioned cases of this sort. I am 
aware that some people have a sentiment against 
this. Personally, I have none. I should not hesi- 
tate to ask my caddie's opinion at golf if I thought 
it likely to be of value, and in many contests, 
where skill and endurance are being tested, the 
player's friends or seconds at a convenient time 
advise him. 

If you have to play a match, get a look at your 
opponent's game if you have the chance of doing 
so. Study it carefully as I have mentioned before 
when referring to anticipation. Then after you 
have "sized him up," if his game gives you any 
suggestion, make up your mind as to your tactics 



TOURNAMENT PLAY 195 

against him. Go onto the court with your plan of 
campaign developed. If, after you have launched 
the attack, you find it isn't working, it must be 
modified, or changed completely, as is necessary. 
I have frequently seen matches won on premedi- 
tated tactics. You can think it out calmly while 
watching your man play another. It is a different 
thing to "size him up" across the net, and he may 
get away from you before you see the best course 
to adopt ; but it is quite another thing if you have 
formed your opinion of his play by careful and 
uninterrupted observation. You are then in a 
much better position to deal with him. 

I shall not give you any elaborate instructions 
on training. I could write you another book on 
this subject if I started, so I must condense again. 

If you are going for an important event, get a 
good trainer if you can afford it. If you can not, 
a friend and a book on training will be some assist- 
ance. 

For all ordinary events, you need not make a 
martyr of yourself. Do not smoke much. Eat 
good solid food. I have an enormous respect for 
beefsteak not too well done. Ease "John Barley- 
corn' ' in his work. 

If you are playing a very hard match and feel 
the want of something, take a little coca wine, some 
whisky and water, or any one of a dozen other 
similar luxuries, but don't drink any more while 
playing than you can possibly avoid. You should 



196 MODERN TENNIS 

never be hungry while you are playing. Regulate 
your meals if you can so that you have a fair rest 
afterward, before you start your match. 

I have a strong idea that for a tournament ex- 
tending over a course of, say, five or six days, it 
is no detriment for a player to be ' ' short of a gal- 
lop' ' or two. If he is too well wound up, he may 
become stale; but this to a large extent depends 
upon the man. 





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UMPIRING AND THE LINESMAN 

To be a good umpire it is essential above every- 
thing, except good eyesight, that you should know 
the rules and laws of tennis. This may seem a 
superfluous statement. I assure you it is not. 
Wherever I go, I find blind people who know little 
or nothing about the game cheerfully taking this 
important position. 

I have found that you may umpire almost per- 
fectly, and yet run no serious risk of being 
harassed by the players as to your views on the 
subject of irrigation. On the other hand, you may 
make a trifling error, and it is any odds that one 
of the quartet will be unable to prevent you 
hearing that he has a horrid suspicion that there 
is hereditary insanity in your family. 

If an umpire knows his laws and his business, he 
will remember that, while he is in the chair, on 
questions of fact his decision is absolutely final. 

To the linesman I shall be brief but emphatic. 
Please remember that your duty is to call sharply 
and distinctly immediately the ball is out, or a 
fault is made, and never, upon any account, call 
" Right/ ' or "In," as this will advertise to those 
who understand these things that you are not quite 
up to date. Moreover, it is a most exasperating 
habit for the players. Sit with your back to the 

197 



198 MODEBN TENNIS 

sun when you can, right opposite the line you are 
taking, and never dream of taking two lines. I 
have been repeatedly asked to, but invariably 
reply, that if I can do one to the complete satis- 
faction of the players I shall almost have achieved 
a record. 

Both players and umpire sometimes appeal to 
the linesman as to "how" a ball is. Such an ap- 
peal, if the linesman knows his duty — and if he 
does not he should not be there — is superfluous. 
His silence is a decision that it is good. Where 
there is a referee, an appeal to him from the um- 
pire's decision may be made on a question of law. 



ENGLISH AND AUSTRALASIAN TENNIS 
COMPARED 

I have been much amused in England by the 
negligently charitable attitude of some of the play- 
ers when speaking of Australasian tennis. It 
seems to breathe the sentiment, "We are the 
tennis-players. Run away, little boy. We have 
nothing to learn.' ' 

The same mental condition existed many years 
ago in regard to cricket. It is not so apparent 
now. 

Australasian tennis has been judged by the per- 
formances of a stray New Zealander, who found 
his way to London, played in the Championship of 
England, was beaten three sets to one by A. W. 
Gore, who afterward won the Championship, and 
who himself told me that he had to go for it 
against the Colonial player; and by the form of 
an English player who won a Championship at 
Sydney. Both these performances are unreliable 
as indications of the capabilities of Colonial 
players.* 

It has, I think, been admitted that the Austra- 
lians, if not so now, were, when they tackled us 
first at cricket, superior to us in resource. It is 

* A year after this book was first published, the pioneer 
Australasian team came to England. The accuracy of this 
statement, which was considerably criticized at the time of 
publication, was, as all tennis-players know, fully established. 

199 



200 MODEEN TENNIS 

in just the quality exprest by that word, which 
sounds so vague and yet is so expressive, that I 
think many of the leading Colonial players exceed 
the capabilities of the Englishmen. 

The Englishman's stupendously calm self-satis- 
faction, that is so intensely irritating to some 
people, is, when one can view it in the right light — 
which apparently his neighbors find it hard to do 
— sublime, and entitled to the greatest admira- 
tion. He does not need to "blow," he does not 
need even to ask: "Would the Colonial boys have 
a chance with us?" The thing is absurd. He 
knows his own unassailable supremacy in every- 
thing from his Navy to Free Trade, excepting al- 
ways, of course, cricket. He does not bother to 
exert any introspective, analytical powers — if he 
has any — on his own position. He knows it is so ; 
that is enough. 

This is not business — it is not even polite — but, 
as the Frenchman is alleged to have said of the 
charge of the Light Brigade, it is magnificent. 

I could pick an Australasian team of eight or 
ten almost any day, who would make things very 
interesting. They know a little about tennis, I 
can assure you. I would take four of their best 
single players against four of England's and the 
odds would be evens. 

Against the Singles Champion of the World, I 
would put up a Sydney lad whose name is not 
known, and the spectators would get fun for their 





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TENNIS COMPARED 201 

money. Best and best at singles, so long as you 
don't take too many, and swamp the Colonials by 
numbers, a very small handicap would bring them 
together. Why should it be otherwise 1 They can 
do it at cricket, why not at tennis 1 They are the 
same race, living, perhaps, under better and 
healthier conditions. 

I admire Australian double play immensely. 
They go for their shot every time, and they never 
lose any time in getting to the net. Despite any- 
thing any one has to say on the subject, my opinion 
is that the only gait suitable for getting up from 
the base-line to the net is the gallop. It is no good 
"trotting" up unless you can "break two min- 
utes." Where the Australians excel is that they 
make their strokes severe enough to risk the lob, 
then they race for the net, and stay right up 
against it, which in my humble opinion is the place. 
You must get beaten sometimes, but it is very 
hard to keep lobbing perfectly, and, moreover, 
most men think it beneath them to keep on lobbing, 
and they give you a chance now and again. I am 
very strong on this point. I think it makes all 
the difference in the beauty of the game. If I 
agreed with playing your volleys from your feet, 
I should immediately advocate putting that other 
yard on the court, but I don't, and never will. 

The main difference between Australian and 
English tennis is that in England the men live at 
tournaments in the season, and in covered courts 



202 MODEKN TENNIS 

out of it — figure of speech, you'll understand; big 
proportion of fact, tho. 

In Australasia they may get a week's real tour- 
nament play in a year. 

Give me a good team of Australasians, such as 
I could pick, and let me acclimatize them here for a 
few months, with plenty of tournament play, and 
there are more unlikely things than that the 
Messrs. Doherty would have to go to the land of 
the Golden Fleece tennis ash-hunting.* 

I hope you will pardon my little patrioticf 
ebullition, but the fact is that we all belong to the 
same dear old home, are all actuated by the same 
keen love of sport that always has been, and I hope 
always will be, one of the grandest, healthiest, and 
best features of our national life, and if "Papa 
Bull" does assume, as a fact beyond argument, 
that he is still "one too many" for his children, 
who shall really, in earnest, find fault with him? 
Are we not every day in our own little homes 
doing the very same thing? Well then, let it rest 
at that, but some day, Papa, I shall bring the boys 
to "see" you. 

Eeverting again to the respective play of the 
Australasians and the English, and my remark as 
to the greater resource of the Australians, it 



* A year after this was written, Messrs. A. W. Dunlop and 
N. E. Brookes defeated Messrs. R. F. and H. L. Doherty, at 
Queen's Club, London, after a hard five-set match. 

t Being a New Zealander, I am of the Davis Cup "nation" 
— Australasia. 



TENNIS COMPARED 203 

was, I think, iu bowling that good old Trumble 
showed England a wrinkle or two. It is in the 
Englishmen's deliveries that I noticed particularly 
room for improvement. I can not help thinking 
that the service is very stereotyped. There is not 
enough attention paid to varying the pace, length, 
spin, and placing of the service. Again, their 
length was certainly not too good, and was 
undoubtedly inferior to that of the ladies. 

They are not quick enough in getting up to the 
net, and indeed in my opinion, generally speaking, 
do not run to the right place, as they slack off too 
soon, and have to play the ball dropping all the 
time. Even the Dohertys offend greatly in this 
respect. 

I did not see at Wimbledon last year a backhand 
off the ground equal to at least three I know in 
Australasia. The backhand drive, as I am accus- 
tomed to seeing it played, seems a lost art. 
There is a strong and marked tendency with many 
players to reduce the game to pat-ball. 

When, however, I come to compare the ladies, I 
must capitulate at once. This I assure my fair 
readers is absolutely genuine. They are much 
further away from the Colonial ladies than are the 
men. England, of course, with her large popula- 
tion, has an immense advantage, and her ladies 
get so accustomed to tournament play that they 
do not in many cases seriously feel the strain. 



ENGLISH TENNIS 

[The following is a criticism of English tennis 
written in May, 1904. There has not been any 
marked change in the English game since it was 
written.] 

The editor of ' ' Lawn-Tennis ' ' has been good 
enough to ask me to state my impression of the 
game as played in England. 

Needless to say, I appreciate fully the compli- 
ment, and have much pleasure in acceding to his 
request, but, in so doing, I must confess that I 
feel myself to be in a very delicate position. Since 
I arrived here I have experienced at the hands of 
the tennis-players of England, the Lawn-Tennis 
Association, and, indeed, every one associated 
with the game, such kindness and consideration 
that, in dealing with the English game, I can 
hardly rid myself of the feeling that I am sitting 
in judgment on my hosts' cigars or wine. 

I believe, however, that it is for the good of the 
game that discussion of its finer points should be 
encouraged, so that, if possible, the tactics and 
practise of tennis may be improved ; so I venture 
to hope that I may be excused if I indicate, with 
all due humility, the few points which have most 
imprest me. These are : 

1. A stereotyped, too diagonal service. - 

204 



ENGLISH TENNIS 205 

2. No attention is paid to " center- theory.' ' 

3. Straight smashing. 

4. Slowness in getting to the net. 

5. Position of striker-out's partner in Doubles. 

6. Weak second service. 

7. A marked tendency in Doubles to stand in 
court and watch lobs. 

I will deal with these points in the order named : 
1. A stereotyped, too diagonal service. I can 
not help thinking that there is far too little variety 
in the service, particularly as regards placing. 
The pace and length of the first service are nearly 
always good, but it is so similar in placing, and 
bound. 

It is, especially in Doubles, nearly always too 
diagonal. This means that the striker-out very 
frequently has the choice of a drive down the 
side-line from outside the side-line into the corner 
of his opponents' court, or else of the sharpest of 
quick-dropping cross--court shots at a most difficult 
angle for the server, whereas if, for the sake of 
illustration, he be made to take the service from, 
say, 6 feet behind the half-court line at the base- 
line, he is completely robbed of an effective side- 
line shot, the net-man can stand nearer in to the 
center of the court, and the striker-out is abso- 
lutely compelled (if he return it that side) to hit 
the ball back to the server, as he runs up, in a 
much straighter line, instead of dropping it 
sharply across the court only a few yards from 



206 MODEEN TENNIS 

the net; also, it gives the man at the net a much 
greater chance of stepping across and killing the 
return, and tends to make the striker-out search 
for the side-lines in a perilous manner. It also, 
to a great extent, removes the doubt, which so 
frequently now exists, as to who is going to take 
the balls which go down the center of the court, 
as the man at the net covers so much more of it 
on this service than he can when, on the diagonal 
delivery, his opponent has a choice of both sides 
of the court. I always think that instead of the 
service being diagonal, with straight ones for a 
change, it should be straight ones for the general 
run, with diagonals for a change. One does not 
prefer a cross-court drive to a straight one to go 
in on. Why, then, should this not apply equally 
to the service! I think if any one will take the 
trouble to draw these angles on a court it will be 
apparent that a centered service is, particularly 
in a Double, of much greater value than the diag- 
onal one. Even when serving into the backhand 
court I repeatedly give my opponent the service 
on his forehand, unless his stroke is something 
very exceptional. If your service has a good 
length down the center of the court, and is quickly 
followed to the net, it is hard for him to beat you 
by a drive. 

2. No attention is paid to " center- theory. " 
This is on the same lines as the first objection. 
Altho there are a large number of strokes played 



ENGLISH TENNIS 207 

straight up and down the court, players generally 
choose a shot on or near the corners, particularly 
the backhand corner, to go in on. This leaves 
both side-line and extreme diagonal shots open, 
whereas a well-centered ball, with good length, 
enables the attacking player to get to the middle 
of the net and halve the triangle, down one side 
of which the ball must travel unless it is driven 
straight at him or lobbed, and I am, of course, 
assuming that the stroke was good enough to go 
in on. Two minutes with a ruler and a pencil on 
a court drawn to scale will convince you of the 
value of this. 

3. Straight smashing. In smashing, especially 
from behind the service-line, there seems to be an 
absence of "body," the transference of weight 
from leg to leg at the critical moment (even when 
it does take place) is not hearty or emphatic 
enough, and the arm is asked to do too much; 
also the direction is frequently bad, being too 
straight down court. By far too large a propor- 
tion of smashes are "picked up" and returned. 

4. Slowness in getting to the net. This is more 
accurately described, perhaps, as running to the 
wrong place, for directly the service-line is 
reached, and frequently before, the player, gener- 
ally speaking, slackens off, so that he gets the 
return at his feet, instead of playing it down over 
the net. 

5. Position of striker-out's partner in Doubles. 



208 MODEBN TENNIS 

To my mind the most serious defect in English 
Doubles is the position of the striker-out's part- 
ner. He may frequently be found about two yards 
inside the service-line, sometimes much nearer 
the net. I am very strong on this point. In my 
opinion, absolutely the only justification for this 
position is winning from it. When the striker- 
out's partner is right in, unless the striker-out 
is marvelously quick at getting up, anything that 
his vis-a-vis "gets onto" goes clean across 
through a deadly cross-court gap. About two 
yards inside the service-line may be a justifiable 
position for players like the Dohertys. The 
striker-out is the sooner in the right relative 
position for Doubles-players, namely, in a line 
with each other, and they can play low volleys in 
an inimitable manner. The cross-court gap is 
closed, and they have secured some yards of 
attacking position, but to how many is it given 
to thus justify a position which, I contend, is for 
98 per cent, of players untenable? I watched this 
carefully during the recent tournament, and at 
Wimbledon in 1905, and was much struck by the 
utter helplessness of the striker-out's partner. I 
am certain this does not, generally speaking, pay. 
The Americans do not believe in it. (I have 
specially referred to this point and low volleying 
under the chapters on "Doubles" and "Person- 
alities." It is impossible to condemn the English 
formation too strongly. Given pairs of equal 




T. E. Pell — Horizontal Backhand Drive 

Mr. Pell is here shown coming onto the ball. Sec thai the arm 
and handle <>f the rackel are In the same plane of force. Note 
the good footwork and thai the transference of weight is being 
correctly made 



Plate ii 



ENGLISH TENNIS 209 

merit, the English formation must lose every 
time.) 

6. Weak second service. Generally there is a 
fair length even to this, but it is frequently a 
plain, high-bounding ball, which comes to hand 
nicely for a severe drive, whereas with a bit of 
work its flight might be rendered more deceptive 
and its bound be kept lower, so that it has to be 
played up instead of being swept down. 

7. A marked tendency in Doubles to stand in 
court and watch lobs. When a lob is put up there 
is only one of two positions permissible — right on 
the net if it be good enough, and if it be not, then 
away out in the "back blocks' ' hoping. There 
should be no half-way house, yet time and again I 
caught players in the back court gazing admir- 
ingly at some short, soft stuff they had tossed 
up, instead of, the moment it had left their rackets, 
and they felt it was bad, racing for the open 
country. 

Speaking generally of the play, there is a 
marked tendency to play an ascending volley, even 
when there is plenty of time, and a step forward 
would make it an overhead one. My motto about 
volleying is, "Never let anything touch the earth 
which you can play conveniently on the volley. 
Never play a volley underhand that you can deal 
with overhead." 

There seemed to me to be a paucity of strokes 
that I could not account for. I watched the 



210 MODEKN TENNIS 

players most critically to ascertain, if possible, 
the cause of this. I noticed especially the absence 
of wrist-work, and this gave me a line. I saw 
then that many players hold their thumbs more 
round to the front of the racket than a great num- 
ber of Colonial players do. The bottom point of 
the V formed by the spread of the thumb and fore- 
finger practically bisects lengthwise the upper 
side of the handle of the racket, in fact, is inclined, 
if anything, to go beyond the middle. I tried the 
hold and found it settled me for wrist-work, 
especially for all cut services, but, of course, it 
may not be so with most players. 

The points I admire about English tennis are 
the pace and length of the first service, the low 
volleying, which at times is delightful to watch, 
and in many cases the half-volleying, altho the 
value of this is discounted considerably, as even 
the most finished exponents of the stroke do not 
take advantage of, say, the eight or ten feet saved 
by it, to be by so much nearer the net. 

I must add to the other virtues of English tennis 
accuracy and steadiness, but I must confess that, 
especially in Doubles, I would like to see more 
sting in the work, and the players making the 
return severe enough for them to get their bete 
noire, the lob, out of their heads, and take up a 
strong attacking position at the net so as to have 
the killing cross-court angles, instead of having to 
play an ascending volley from near the service- 



ENGLISH TENNIS 211 

line, which, naturally, can not be played at a 
severe pace or acute angle. 

I might, perhaps, also mention a fault which is 
exaggerated in America, and that is the indis- 
criminate running in on the service. It is just 
as injudicious to run in on a badly pitched or 
placed service as it is to go up on a poor return, 
yet players consistently run in on " stuff' ' which 
simply courts disaster. If you run in on every- 
thing your opponent gets used to it. I believe in 
running in on every suitable service, but I don't 
do it so that my opponent knows when I am 
coming. I think half the art in tennis is to keep 
your man " guessing " all the time. It is quite 
useless to run in on a high bounding, poor length, 
diagonal service. You have some "hope" if it is 
down the center. 

The lob is one of the best played strokes I have 
seen. In its place I admire it greatly, and I have 
seen some admirable recoveries effected by 
"brainy" lobs at critical periods. 

Speaking of volleying generally, I think it lacks 
sting and snap, and I ascribe this, quite tenta- 
tively, remember, to the hold I notice to be most 
prevalent. (Since this was written I have satis- 
fied myself that this defect is due to the prevalent 
unchanged grip. The greater sting in the Ameri- 
can and Australian volleying is in this respect a 
useful object-lesson.) 

It is wonderful how the characteristics of a 



212 MODEKN TENNIS 

nation impress themselves on a game. English 
tennis, in my opinion, is very consistent, very 
steady, very solid, very plain and above-board, 
too honest by far. There is not enough guile in 
it. It seems to me to lack many of the fine wristy 
net-shots, and snappy cross-volleys, which are 
such deadly scorers, and there seems a wonderful 
tendency, again characteristic, to take as little risk 
as possible with the side-lines, especially when it 
is a case of an overhead volley. 

These are only the impressions of an unsophisti- 
cated wanderer, who has, nevertheless, derived an 
immense amount of enjoyment from watching and 
playing tennis in every continent. I trust that 
none of my criticisms will be considered too 
searching, and I know that if, perchance, in the 
mass of chaff there should happen to be a whole 
grain, it will be utilized. 

I may say^ perhaps, in conclusion, that altho 
I have always realized the privilege and value of 
belonging to that grand freemasonry, the brother- 
hood of sport, a gild which has made my way 
pleasant the world over — for the racket, the club, 
the wheel, and the gun have found me boon com- 
panions wherever I have happened to be — yet 
never has the value thereof been so fully borne 
in upon me as by the tennis-players of and in dear 
old England, and if I ever take to wearing a badge 
I think it will be a tennis-racket. 

P. A. Vaile. 




T. B. Pell — Horizontal .Backhand Drive 

This is an excellent illustration of the position referred to In 
the text. Mr. Pell is caught out of position, the hall almost 
coming at his body, hut the stroke presents no difficulty to bim. 
It would he practically impossible with the English grip. 



Plate t_ 



PERSONALITIES 

I am afraid nature was in one respect at least 
unkind to me. She made me a notice-taking crea- 
ture, and later on, when I met and became rather 
intimate with Sherlock Holmes, the habit grew 
and I took pains to cultivate it. I soon tired of 
Holmes, tho. He was a patronizing wretch, and 
his ' ' My dear Vaile, have you read my monograph 
on the value of silkworms for producing clues in 
the detection of crime,' ' and so on, palled after a 
while. It was a monolog on monographs, but I 
must give him his due; the habit of observation 
remained. Added to this, I was always, and am 
still, hypercritically inclined, indeed, I come from 
a quarter of the globe where one is not readily 
stirred to enthuse, unless the object really be 
worthy of enthusiasm — and then it's an awful job 
to start it going with anything less than a Boer 
War or a football-match. These remarks are by 
way of apology for criticizing the " eminent men" 
whose names appear hereafter, but as it is all in 
the interest of sport, and they are all in the truest 
and best sense sportsmen, I feel sure that if they 
should desire any satisfaction, they will do noth- 
ing worse than "take it out of me" across a net — 
also they must remember that he who climbs high 
is easily seen — even in the tennis-world. 

213 



214 MODEEN TENNIS 

In dealing with individuals one naturally takes 
H. L. Doherty first. It is his due. I may say at 
once that of all the men I have seen of late years, 
H. L. Doherty most nearly fills my idea of a 
perfect singles-player, and yet I think his tactics 
are unsound in some ways. I am not one who 
worships success, and a man may be champion of 
the world — and yet have serious blemishes in his 
game. Mr. Doherty is neither "a wild rusher' ' 
nor i ' a base-line wanderer, ' ? nor yet can I call him 
an absolutely judicious combination of the two. 
He goes in on nearly every service, on many which 
I could not pass as having sting or length enough 
to justify such a proceeding were his opponent his 
equal, and even as it is, he is too often passed. I 
can not help thinking that both in singles and 
doubles he stays too far away from the net. Cer- 
tainly he plays low volleys, too many of them, 
from his feet with a lovely stroke and great pre- 
cision, but such a shot can not have any telling 
angle or pace on it. If he were up against his 
equal, and had to, as he then would, choose his 
opportunity to go up, and was taught by a few 
object lessons that waiting a little inside the serv- 
ice-line is not the best place in the court, I should 
think he would go very near to playing perfect 
tennis. His tennis virtues are too well known to 
the public to require any remarks from me. I 
may, however, say that the secret of his very fine 
game is undoubtedly timing and the perfectly 



PERSONALITIES 215 

harmonious action of body and limbs. He gets 
every ounce out of bis stroke without much ap- 
parent effort. He makes his body do its share of 
the work. How few really do this, or even realize 
its importance ! Imagine trying to hit a man with 
your body still and using only arm-action. You 
want your body to be in your work, particularly 
in smashing. Just here, it is interesting to note 
that altho Messrs. Doherty strongly advise play- 
ers to "make your opponents volley up; be your- 
self always in a position to hit down," there are 
probably no two players in the world who play 
more ascending volleys. 

However, this advice is the essence of volleying 
wisdom, and the latter sentence is the quint- 
essence, for to carry it out you must be where I 
am always insisting that you shall go, directly 
you get a good chance, and that is right up at the 
net. 

I had nearly forgotten to refer to Mr. Doherty J s 
length. I was very disappointed. He rarely 
pitched a ball within four feet of the base-line, 
indeed, so noticeable was this that I asked him if 
he had any object in keeping that length, when 
he assured me that he considered it was good 
enough. I do not. If he kept that length against 
his equal, his opponent would have so much less 
ground to cover every time to get into position 
at the net. This would mean a lot of saving in 
exertion in five sets, let alone the tactical advan- 



216 MODEEN TENNIS 

tages. I noticed also that his returns were gener- 
ally pretty straight down the court. It seemed to 
me he was taking no risks, either with the side- 
lines or the base-lines, and this is where the center- 
theory must save you many an ace. You only 
have length to worry about. 

These criticisms were written, as is well known 
to many tennis-players, long before the Covered 
Courts Championships were decided. The final 
for the singles quite proved — to my satisfaction 
at least — the soundness of my contentions about 
H. L. Doherty's tactics. On the day he met 
Eitchie he was undoubtedly off his game. This 
brought him into Eitchie 's class, and Eitchie 's 
tactics on the day being quite as good as the 
Champion's, it was anybody's match, and had 
Eitchie possest the temperament of the winner 
the result might even have been the other way.* 

I am dealing very plainly with H. L. Doherty's 
theory. To praise his execution when in form is 
to gild refined gold, but even at the risk of being 
thought severe I will maintain that that execution 
is worthy of better theory and tactics. 

I have not said anything about demeanor in 
court and so on. To those who play tennis it 
should be unnecessary, but there are a few who 



* Many months after this was published Mr. Ritchie fairly 
and squarely beat Mr. H. L. Doherty at Queen's Club, mainly 
on account of the defects in the champion's tactics which I 
have referred to. 




T. R. Pell — Horizontal Backhand Drive 

This shows the stroke a stage further. The racket is ascend- 
ing slightly. The face is laid back a little, bul by the time it 
reaches the ball it will be practically vertical. Note that Mr. 
Pell holds the leather of the rackel in his hand. 



Plate t3 



PEESONALITIES 217 

might with much advantage take an example from 
H. L. Doherty, always, outwardly, at least, un- 
ruffled, calmly accepting wrong decisions and 
allowing nothing to worry him. This tells ; make 
no mistake about it. Getting savage is only pro- 
viding cheap amusement for the gallery, and put- 
ting yourself off your game. 

I hope it will not be thought that I am dealing 
too severely with Mr. Doherty 's game; I am 
taking him as the ablest and most finished prac- 
tical exponent of the single game that I know, and 
I am dissecting that game for the benefit of the 
game. 

Anything I can say of H. L. Doherty 's game I 
think I might almost say for his brother, R. F. 
Doherty. His strokes are all very fine, and, con- 
sidering his grip, it is a wonder to me how he 
gets them. His service is very good, and his sec- 
ond service the best I know. I have not seen him 
"all out" in a single. I should like to see the two 
brothers have a "real go." I would miss my 
luncheon for it — if necessary. 

R. F. and H. L. Doherty form without doubt a 
very fine combination. I think, however, that 
even more in the double than in the single is the 
low- volleying defect noticeable. The answer may 
be, "It is their game, and it has succeeded." This 
does not bother me a trifle. What I am worrying 
about is, whether it is the right one or not, and the 
one most suitable for the majority of players, and 



218 MODERN TENNIS 

most calculated to make the game brilliant, scien- 
tific, and most popular ; and frankly I do not think 
it is. It is apparent that the Dohertys are at 
present a little away from the others, and I could 
not get it out of my head that they, as indeed is 
natural, take liberties with the game.* 

F. L. Riseley was runner-up for the Champion- 
ship in 1905. I was much pleased with his play, 
altho he spoiled his backhand to a great extent 
by playing the shot off the wrong leg. He mixes 
his game well, generally speaking, altho he very 
often neglects a good opening, and then goes up 
on an inferior one. He has a fine, fast, first serv- 
ice, but does not vary it much. 

A. W. Gore is a base-line player. His strong 
point is his forehand drive, which off a high bound- 
ing ball is very fine. He won the Championship 
of England in 1901.t He rarely or never volleys, 
for which I can hardly forgive him, as under com- 
pulsion and force of expostulation I have seen him 
execute some paralyzing smashes from the back 
court, and when forced to in a double he acquits 
himself really well, using his forehand drive fre- 
quently and with great effect as a volley. 



* It was precisely this taking of liberties, particularly in 
the matter of the striker-out's partner standing- near the net, 
that cost them their match against the Australian pair. They 
did not reproduce this error against the Americans, Messrs. 
Ward and Wright, and just won after a hard five-set match. 
Playing in their usual formation they would certainly have lost 
the match. 

tHe has since won it twice. 



PERSONALITIES 219 

S. H. Smith is another player of the same stamp 
as Gore. He has a great forehand drive. He 
rarely volleys, but when he does, uses his drive 
with great effect. 

Smith and Riseley have the distinction of being 
the only pair who have ever beaten the Dohertys 
for the Doubles Championship of England. They 
annexed this event in 1902, and, several years 
later, in a memorable match, again defeated the 
Dohertys in the final. 

Mr. E. G. Meers, who won the Covered Courts 
Championship of England in 1892, does not now 
take an active part in tournament play, altho he 
is still quite a " tough proposition." He did not 
start tennis until late in life, but he brought to 
bear on it an amount of thought and a rare in- 
sight into the game, which few have either the 
power or the application to do. The result was 
that he developed a very fine game, and to this 
day he stands out in my mind as one of the very 
finest tacticians, if not, indeed, the finest that I 
have ever seen. To see him working for his op- 
portunity, and when it came, getting in and set- 
tling matters, was quite sufficient to answer the 
question, "Is tennis a ' brainy' game?" 

G. A. Caridia, Champion of Wales, is without 
doubt the finest half-volleyer in England. He 
also plays a rising ball very well. He has ascer- 
tained the fact that a rising ball requires the blade 
of the racket to be at a suitable angle to correct 



220 MODEEN TENNIS 

the ascending tendency; many of his half -volleys 
are wonderful, and always a pretty stroke, he 
makes it in many cases a beautiful one. He plays 
a good backhand volley, but his service is not too 
strong. He rarely if ever takes advantage of the 
time he gains by his half -volley to be, by so much, 
nearer to the net. This, of course, considerably 
discounts the value of the stroke. 

George W. Hillyard, after a considerable ab- 
sence from the list of champions, joined the roll 
of honor again in 1905 by annexing, with H. L. 
Doherty, the Covered Courts Doubles Champion- 
ship of England. He was hampered by a weak 
leg, the result of sciatica, but nevertheless he 
played a good game. He went for his smashes in 
a determined manner, and put many of them away 
in a style that pleased me very much, albeit he 
could not, on account of his leg, use his body 
weight with advantage. His service is distinctly 
good and he evidently understands the value of 
centering it. He very rarely lost his service 
during the tournament. His great reach makes 
him very difficult to get away from. I have not 
had the pleasure of seeing him play a single, but 
from his strokes should judge that he would play 
a fine game. 

M. J. G. Eitchie is a curiously even player. 
There are no very pronounced faults in his game, 
neither is there much to call for special mention, 
yet on occasions he puts up a very fine game. His 





§ Sg-g 

M * . : 

_ - - 

< -~ - 







T. K. Pell — Horizontal Backhand Drive 

Urn- we see Mr. Pell's vigorous finish. The racket-face now 

is horizontal instead of vertical. Observe carefully Mr. Poll's 
grip, which is the same as mine. The end <>f the handle is In his 
band. Compare iliis grip with mine In Plat*' 34. 

Plate 45 






PERSONALITIES 221 

smash from behind the service-line is nearly all 
arm work and consequently never severe. With 
a greater knowledge of tactics and a cultivation 
of that essential to success in tennis, equanimity, 
Eitchie might easily be classed Al at Lloyd's. 

There are many other fine players who are quite 
worthy of mention, but space forbids, and I have 
here just mentioned the few who have occurred to 
me as being of special interest by reason of their 
achievements, and on account of special strokes. 



HOW AMEEICA CAN EEGAIN THE 
DAVIS CUP 

Tennis unquestionably is the most popular 
game that is played. Its spread has been, and is, 
amazing. Nowhere is this more apparent than 
in the United States of America, and nowhere are 
there so many fine young players as there are in 
this country. Yet the United States of America 
have recently lost the Davis Cup, the international 
blue ribbon of the game. 

It will be profitable to inquire why we lost it, 
and how we may regain it. 

Briefly, it may be said that America lost the 
Davis Cup through lack of form, and that she may. 
and almost certainly can, regain it by paying more 
attention to correct form. 

It is almost unnecessary to waste time in im- 
pressing on American athletes the value of form. 
The wonderful position that they occupy in the 
world of sport may almost wholly be attributed 
to their remarkable ability in studying the 
minutest details which tend to produce the best 
results with the least possible waste of energy. 

In the comparisons made herein it must be 
understood that international form and the highest 
degree of that is being considered, for nothing 
less than that will be of service to America in the 
task which is in front of her. 

222 



THE DAVIS CUP 223 

There is an amazing number of fine young 
tennis-players springing up in America, but the 
majority of them lack form in some important 
respect. 

This lack of form springs in almost every case 
from ignorance of the theory of the game. Tennis 
is such a remarkably difficult game to play well, 
that if one trusts to what one can learn of one's 
own observation on the court, one is likely to be 
too old to play the game before one knows it 
thoroughly. 

This may sound like exaggeration. Let me give 
an illustration. Maurice E. McLoughlin, one of 
the finest young players in the world, went back 
to California last year, after nine years of play- 
ing the game, defeated, instead of being three 
times in succession national champion, because his 
form off the ground is unworthy of the rest of his 
game. 

It simply amounts to this. McLoughlin's game, 
despite his brilliant performances, is unbalanced. 
He has only developed one side of it, the service 
and the volley. So long as McLoughlin has to 
deal with a ball in the air he is quite at home and 
as good as the best, provided it is not too low, but 
when he has to deal with a ball that comes off the 
ground, he is another man. 

Let nobody think that there is herein any at- 
tempt to depreciate McLoughlin 's game. I have 
a very sincere admiration for that and for Amer- 



224 MODEBN TENNIS 

ica's young athlete himself, but empty flattery is 
of no use to any one. 

McLoughlin 's ground-strokes are not sound 
enough or varied enough. He has practically no 
backhand, and off the low ball his forehand is 
very weak. He can drive a high ball — such as 
those with which Wilding persistently provided 
him at the last Davis Cup matches — very well, 
as Wilding, to his discomfiture, ascertained. 

There has been much unwholesome adulation 
of McLoughlin's play, but he is, I feel sure, too 
sensible and too modest to be harmed by it ; more- 
over, I happen to know that McLoughlin realizes 
as well as I do his lamentable weakness on the 
backhand, and that he will make a vigorous effort 
to repair that defect before next championship 
meeting. 

The morning McLoughlin left New York to 
compete in the World's Championship at Wim- 
bledon, England, I went down to see him. He was 
staying a few doors from me. This is what I said 
to him: "Mac, I want to say two things to you 
about your play, because I should like to see you 
win this time. It is about time America won, but, 
if you are going to do it, you must watch your 
feet. They will let you go till the final, and then 
foot-fault you and throw you off your game ; and, 
for goodness' sake, get a backhand, for they'll 
pound you on that." 

It came out exactly as I told him it would. 



THE DAVIS CUP 



225 



Now, in view of McLoughlin 's fine perform- 
ance in the Davis Cup singles, when he beat 
both Brookes and Wilding, it might reasonably 
be asked: "How can one say his form was 
wrong t" 




Figure 30 

M. E. McLoughlin Playing a Forehand Drive. Taken from 

a Photograph Illustrating His Form 

Notice the position of the feet, which is entirely wrong, the 
right foot being in front instead of the left. McLoughlin '<s foot- 
work is, however, not so bad on the forehand as on the backhand. 
The worst defect shown here is the hold of the racket. This hold 
is the cause of McLoughlin 's weakness at driving or returning all 
low balls on the forehand. It is quite unsuitable for these strokes, 
and is apt to turn over too soon, thus putting the ball into the net. 
For driving a high-bounding ball it is not so bad. 



226 MODEKN TENNIS 

The answer is that he showed his lack of form 
principally not in either of those matches, but in 
the doubles, on which hinged the result of the 
contest. 

Naturally, he was suffering somewhat from his 
exertion against Brookes, but off the ground he 
was very weak, and the main reason for his lack 
of form here was that his theory of the forehand 
drive is quite wrong. 

What I am writing now I have said to Mc- 
Loughlin, and he knows well that it is true, and 
probably many of my readers will see that it is. 

Three times I have seen McLoughlin in trying 
to drive a ball from a few feet outside the base- 
line, hit it ont^ the court before it reached the 
service-line. 

This ball, if it could have continued its course, 
would have passed about six feet below the net, 
so McLoughlin 's error was only about nine feet 
six inches in a distance of about forty-five feet ! 

We are entitled to expect more accuracy than 
this from an international player. 

Directly I saw this I knew that McLoughlin was 
trying to produce his forehand drive in very bad 
form, in fact, that he was trying to give it top 
by turning the racket over it at the moment of 
impact, and by trying to cut up behind the ball 
far too much, instead of following his stroke 
through more. 

Several times in the international matches 



THE DAVIS CUP 227 

McLoughlin hit the ball on the wood and skied it 
nearly out of the enclosure. If there had been 
any doubt in my mind this would have settled 
it. He was trying to produce his stroke in a way 
that was absolutely opposed to all good form and 
consequently he fell down, for such a method is 
bad enough on a high bounding ball, but abso- 
lutely fatal on a low bound. 

McLoughlin further confirmed my diagnosis of 
his stroke after every failure he made, for, as the 
golfer "goes through the motions" after a bad 
stroke, so did McLoughlin. Closely observing 
his action, one could see that he brought his racket 
up and around too much, and not forward enough. 
In a word the follow through was defective. 

McLoughlin was trying for a quick-dropping 
ball in the doubles, for he wanted the cross-court 
passing shots that were not so necessary in the 
singles, and he overdid it. His want of form 
found him out. 

The foundation of tennis is the ground-game, 
and unless a player has that, he has built his 
house on a rotten base. A real champion should, 
to borrow the language of the prize-ring, have i ' a 
punch in each hand," in other words, he should 
have a drive on both forehand and backhand. It 
is not as tho these strokes were unknown. We 
have in tennis splendid examples of each stroke. 
Surely, one who has developed his service and 
volleying so splendidly as McLoughlin has, is not 



228 MODERN TENNIS 

going to confess that lie can not master the theory 
of the backhand stroke ; and once he has the theory 
the rest should be simple. 

Now, in speaking thus of McLoughlin, who, 
really, despite his lack of form in the ground- 
game, has done some very remarkable things, one 
might be laying oneself open to severe criticism 
unless one were well fortified. 

This is not any matter of imagination. This is 
a matter of ascertained fact. So that there may 
be no doubt of the truth and force of my criticism 
in this matter, I must relate a conversation that 
I had with McLoughlin not long ago. 

Now, let it be known, McLoughlin is only too 
willing to learn. He is a very sensible young 
man, and quite unspoiled by his success at tennis. 

He came to see me a day or two after his defeat 
by R. N. Williams 2nd, at Newport. We drifted 
into a discussion of the strokes of the game, and 
I asked McLoughlin how he played a low back- 
hand drive. He showed me. 

He had not his fore-arm in line with the handle, 
and I pointed out to him that it was quite natural 
that, playing the stroke in that way, he should 
put so many of them into the net. 

McLoughlin's answer was: "It's not that 
stroke I am worrying about. I want to get that 
one up here, so that I can command the return of 
the service, ' ' and he indicated a return off a high- 
bounding ball above his shoulder. 



THE DAVIS CUP 229 

I said: "My dear Mac, if you will allow rne 
to play a backhand overhead smash, and will then 
hang me up by the heels to the ceiling and see 
me play the same stroke you won't know it from 
a low backhand drive. The fact is that there is 
only one proper method of producing the back- 
hand stroke. Where the stroke happens to be 
made is only a question of which point of the com- 
pass it is moving in on the half circle that the 
backhand covers. The stroke is identical in its 
principle throughout the whole of the backhand 
side, be it low drive, horizontal drive or overhead 
smash"; and there can not be the least doubt that 
this is so. 

It is easy to see what a great handicap even 
such a player as McLoughlin suffers from in not 
knowing the theory of the stroke. 

How much greater is this the case with thou- 
sands of young players who are following in his 
footsteps, and, so far as this beautiful and effec- 
tive stroke is concerned, following blindly. 

The way in which McLoughlin was forced out 
of the court in the recent Davis Cup matches in 
order to cover up his weakness on the backhand, 
was one of the most remarkable things I have 
ever seen in first-class tennis. The national cham- 
pion did not dare to play the ball in the orthodox 
way. 

Next season there will, I hope, be" a different 
tale to tell. 



230 MODEEN TENNIS 

McLoughlin himself is a good example of form 
in so far as regards his service and smash. 
These are both produced in a manner which is 
almost mechanically perfect. In his service, des- 
pite his immense pace, his action is smooth and 
graceful, and he does not take half so much out of 
himself as do some other players whose service is 
very similar to his in its production. 

One Californian, by comparison with Mc- 
Loughlin, is almost a contortionist. His service 
falls right across his abdominal muscles, and the 
pounding they get is fearful. It is small wonder 
that he suffers from it. 

McLoughlin's form in the smash should be 
emulated. He throws his whole body at the 
ball, which is the only proper way to smash. Eng- 
lish players stand still and hit overhead with the 
arm working like a railway semaphore. Apart 
from this being less severe, it is less accurate, for 
it requires much more skilful timing than if the 
body is moving forward onto the ball. 

E. Norris Williams 2nd lost both his matches 
in the last Davis Cup contest. He started well 
against Wilding, but fell to pieces afterward and 
was badly beaten, while against Brookes his utter 
absence of even the semblance of form in the first 
two sets was quite painful, and it was almost as 
bad in the fourth. In the third set he showed some 
very good form, but, as is usual with him, it was 
not sustained. 



THE DAVIS CUP 231 

Williams has two very serious defects in his 
game. One is distinctly bad form, and the other 
must, I think, according to the requirements of 
the modern game, be also classed as a defect of 
that nature. 

First, he holds his racket wrongly on the 
backhand and plays the stroke nearly always with 
his feet out of position. This leaves him facing 
the net when striking the ball, and it is without 
question the worst possible form. 

The second defect in Williams's game is that 
he trusts to a trajectory which is practically un- 
assisted by spin. Naturally, he has to try to play 
very close to the net all the time. Very naturally, 
also, he puts his ball into it far too often. 

S. H. Smith, the famous English forehand 
driver, did the same. When on his game he was 
simply a " terror' ' (I shall never forget his piti- 
less driving the day he beat Holcombe Ward set- 
less at Wimbledon), but when he is off — he is off. 

McLoughlin's perfect command of over-spin 
enables him to get just enough drop to prevent his 
throwing away the innumerable points in double 
faults that come so naturally to Williams. This 
is where form comes in. 

Speaking of his match against Brookes, Wil- 
liams said to me that he was "hitting the tape all 
the time." So he was, for so must the player do 
who drives low without any spin, unless he is an 
A. W. Gore or an S. H. Smith, and there are not 
many of them. 



232 



MODERN TENNIS 



Nothing is gained by "risking the net" in a 
single unless one is being attacked, and has to 
play a passing shot. The net is quite our worst 
antagonist, and we should always play as far 
away from it as we can without interfering with 
the efficacy of the shot. 

When Wilding was in his best form he regu- 
larly drove a foot and eighteen inches above the 




E. N. Williams, 2d, National 
Champion, at the end of his 
backward swing in the back- 
hand stroke. This is reproduced 
from a photograph. Note that 
the wrong foot is in front, 
which twists his body out of 
shape and limits his backward 
swing. 



Figure 31 
R. N. Williams, 2d 

net with plenty of top-spin that brought the ball 
down near the base-line and gave a good long 
bound. This is much better form than trusting to 



THE DAVIS CUP 



233 



pace and a flat drive, and be it remembered that 
the forehand drive is the foundation of the game. 
It can not possibly be considered good form to 
take unnecessary risks. Williams is taking them 
all the time, and he pays for doing so. 

The consequence of his bad foot-work and his 
low return against Brookes 's heavily cut service 
was that for the first and second sets he looked 



R. N. Williams, 2d, National 
Champion, half-way through a 
backhand stroke. Note that his 
feet are still wrong, as they 
nearly always are. Compare 
these illustrations with Mr. 
Pell's fine foot-work. It ia 
almost incredible, but is the 
fact, that these two pictures 
were used by a tennis-journalist 
in a New York magazine as an 
illustration of good form on the 
backhand. It would be almost 
impossible to get two more 
striking instances of bad form, 
and so long as Williams per- 
sists in playing like this, he will 
suffer disastrous — and, to him, 
unexpected — reverses, such as he 
met with in the Davis Cup and 
the intercollegiate champion- 
ship. 




Figure 32 
R. N. Williams, 2d 



like a mere novice instead of an international 
player. 
Brookes 's photographs show in what an effort- 



234 MODEBN TENNIS 

less manner lie produces his service. A com- 
parison of his methods with those of some of the 
younger players, 'as disclosed by photographs, 
will show what a fearful waste of energy there is 
in some of these spectacular services. 

It will probably be asked how players are to 
acquire correct form at tennis. The answer is 
by learning the correct theory of the game and 
the production of the strokes, and then by model- 
ing their strokes on those of the best exponents 
of the game, who express in their actions and the 
result thereof the benefits to be derived from the 
judicious blending of theory and practise. 

In tennis the strokes should be as clear-cut and 
well defined as they are in golf. They should, in 
fact, be standardized, and their production, both 
theoretically and practically, should be taught in- 
telligently. 

At one of the leading clubs in America I once 
saw a perfectly stupid fellow getting two dollars 
an hour for spoiling his pupils' prospects. This 
is no use to America. She has good tuition in 
other branches of athletics. If she wants to win 
at tennis she must have it in that game also. 

It has always been a matter of wonder to me 
that there is such chaos in the strokes in tennis, 
for surely America has produced some players 
worthy of being followed. W. A. Larned was one 
of the soundest stroke-players in the world, and 
he had seven championships of the United States 




T. R. Pell— Backhand Drive off High Bound 
I am frequently asked how to play a high-bounding ball on 
the backhand. This picture shows how naturally this hold can 
be used for this stroke, or, Indeed, Tor a ball that is much higher. 

Plate 46 



THE DAVIS CUP 235 

to recommend his methods, yet how many young- 
players with his brand on them do we see? 

It is not, however, necessary to take any one 
player for all one's strokes. One may take one 
stroke from one man and another from a different 
source. I should have no hesitation in advising a 
young player to mold his backhand drive on Mr. 
T. E. PelPs, for it is at least as good as any in 
the northern hemisphere; but there are other 
players to whom I should recommend him, in 
preference to Mr. Pell, if he wanted the best pos- 
sible forehand, altho Mr. PelPs stroke is not to 
be despised, and, as a matter of fact, should be 
known and used — ivith a firmer tvrist — by every 
player, for it is the natural reply to a low ball, 
but, unfortunately, not very useful on a high 
bound. 

In a word then, or a few, what America requires 
in order to regain her lost laurels in tennis is 
more true form, especially in the ground-game, a 
greater knowledge of the true theory of stroke 
production, and a sounder application of it. 

In McLoughlin and Williams we have two fine 
young athletes, who are a credit to their country, 
but it would be abject flattery to say that their 
game is "rounded off " as it should be — as it can 
be if some one will take them in hand and do with 
them as the famous Murphy was wont to do with 
his team of athletes — make them use the best 
methods, or at leas-t try them ! 



236 



MODERN TENNIS 



Seriously speaking, this will not be quite neces- 
sary, but there can be no doubt that with the ad- 
dition only of a backhand drive such as that of 
Mr. Pell, both of America's representatives would 
be far more formidable opponents than they are 
at present. 

This is reducing the question of form to a very 
concrete proposition. 



The two positions on this and 
the following page are taken 
from photographs of McLough- 
lin showing his methods. The 
first position shows him looking 
for a low ball, whereas the 
position of the racket in the 
swing-back is for a horizontal 
drive off a fairly high-bounding 
ball. The main defect, how- 
ever, is in the foot-work. Com- 
pare this with Mr. Pell's foot- 
work, with the position shown in 
my photographs, and with the 
diagram of the correct position 
of the feet for the backhand 
stroke. The right foot should 
point much more toward the net, 
particularly in the finish of the 
stroke. So long as McLoughlin 
uses his feet thus, he will have 
to run around his backhand to 
cover its weakness. Whatever 
may be said to the contrary by 




Figure 33 

M. E. McLoughlin 

Swing-Back in Backhand 

Drive 



On international form these players are one- 
sided men. They have no backhand. Mr. Pell's 



THE DAVIS CUP 



237 



backhand drive is a well-known stroke produced 
in much better form than theirs by a player who 
should rank higher than he does. Why can they 
not acquire it? Would America let her hurdlers 
go out to represent her with an obsolete stride! 
I think not. 

Why then should her tennis-players go onto the 
court with obsolete or defective strokes and 
methods? 



ill-informed people, there is 
only one correct principle of 
producing the backhand 
stroke, be it plain stroke, 
lifting drive, or chop. This 
is shown by the photographs 
of Messrs. T. R. Pell, Nor- 
man Brookes, and of myself. 
The importance of this 
stroke and its thorough neg- 
lect by all tennis-writers is 
the reason for the most 
complete illustration and 
explanation of it which I 
have given in this volume. 

As a matter of fact, Mc- 
Loughlin essays to do, on 
the backhand, what his 
photograph indicates, name- 
ly, to play the stroke for a 
high -bounding ball on the 
low ball. This puts his arm 
out of line with the racket 
and ruins his game on the 
backhand side. 




Figure 34 

M. E. McLoughlin 
Finish of Backhand Stroke 



We have, as an example of almost perfect form 
in serving and smashing, McLoughlin. Williams, 



238 MODEKN TENNIS 

with practise, could easily alter his service and 
smashing. He had his day against McLoughlin, 
but it must be remembered that his form carries 
with it too much risk for international work, as 
was shown in the Davis Cup matches, and has been 
shown since, when he was defeated in the inter- 
collegiate championship. 

Both McLoughlin and Williams could learn to 
drive on the backhand as Mr. Pell does, while on 
the forehand there are many whose form is cor- 
rect and at the same time severe enough to be 
worthy of emulation. 

It is only by strict attention to form that Amer- 
ica will regain the Davis Cup. England lost it, 
as I prophesied she would, through bad form, 
through playing pretty pat-ball on wrong princi- 
ples, instead of following the original manly game. 

America must not follow her lead. She has the 
players, a wonderful band of young athletes, 
coming to light every day faster than in any other 
country, but they must not be allowed to run wild. 
They must be caught young, and taught the 
technique and tactics of the game. Then America 
will win and hold the Davis Cup for many years, 
for she has, without doubt, the best young mate- 
rial in the world. 



INTEKNATIONAL TENNIS 

It was in 1904 that I first drew attention to 
the defective methods of the English players. At 
that time Messrs. Doherty were at the height of 
their fame, and English players conld see no good 
in any but their methods. I knew that they were 
of no use for the vast majority of players, and 
stated plainly that they would land England "in 
the mud, ' ' which they have done. In speaking of 
English tennis, Norman Brookes uses the word 
that I have applied to it for years, "stagnation." 
No other word can do it justice. 

Brookes says he can not account for it. It is 
most simple to account for it. The strokes of the 
game are not known or played as they should be. 
The technique of their game is all wrong. While 
champions spring up in every country — here there 
are potential champions in bunches — England's 
senescent and adipose players continue to annex 
cups and championships because the youth 
of the country will not use its brains in a game 
that calls so insistently for brains as does tennis. 

I have said before, and I repeat with all the 
emphasis of which I am capable, that when the 
history of tennis comes to be written — if it ever 
is — the period during which the Doherty methods 
were followed in England will be clearly recog- 

230 



240 MODERN TENNIS 

nized as a hiatus in the true game during which 
English players were off the real track. 

C. P. Dixon is, without doubt, the leading 
exponent of the Doherty school. Norman E. 
Brookes is, equally without doubt, the most fin- 
ished and intelligent exponent of the real game 
of tennis who is now in the game. 

They met in two matches during the recent visit 
of the English team to Australasia. Brookes won 
both. The first was 3 — 0, and the aggregate score 
in games was 18 to 10. 

Their next meeting was a two-set match, and 
the aggregate score was 12 to 0. 

On the result of these two matches the score 
was 30 games to 10, which about expresses the 
merits of the two schools of tennis. 

I have absolutely no use for English methods, 
especially on the backhand. They are effeminate 
and obsolete. 

Now it must be clearly understood that such 
sterling players as J. C. Parke, H. Eoper Barrett, 
M. J. G. Ritchie, and A. W. Gore do not use the 
English strokes. 

I have seen Parke play many times, but never 
since he beat Brookes at Melbourne, in Australia. 
He has a fine forehand drive. There is no ball- 
waving in it. He runs onto the ball and gives it 
all his weight. 

The tennis writers in England delight in calling 
Brookes an unorthodox player. Really, if they 




Norman E. Br< 



-Backhand Stroke 



This remarkable picture shows Brookes playing a backhand 
stroke in his stride. It is a wonderful lesson on the true and 
only backhand. Notice the grip of the racket and the absolutely 
perfect line of the arm and the racket-handle. This is a perfeel 
grip for volleying or playing <>fl' the ground. 



Plate 4' 



INTERNATIONAL TENNIS 241 

only knew it, he is the most orthodox player in 
the world. Every stroke is produced on correct 
mechanical principles, and he gets the maximum 
of results for the expenditure of energy that he 
sees fit to use, for, be it understood, Brookes cal- 
culates things out to finer points, probably, than 
any other player in the game. One never sees 
him doing any sharp turns or contortion acts. 
These mean wear and tear. He has his idea even 
in his funny little semi-circular turn just before 
he serves. 

Brookes seemed to me to play a different game 
from what he showed on his first visit to England. 
Then he was always close up to the net when he 
got a chance, and volleying at sharp angles across 
court. During the last international matches he 
ran in and got his first volley at or about the 
service-line, and put it back, as, indeed, from his 
position he had to do, much straighter than during 
his first visit to England. He would frequently 
get a little nearer on his second stroke and score 
off that. It seemed to me that he was volleying 
much farther from the net all the time. Possibly 
he has settled it with himself that he can not stand 
galloping up to the net all the time, and so has 
decided to take the trip in two stages. That is 
what it looked like to me. Brookes certainly is a 
wonder at sparing himself, and he is the only 
man I ever saw playing who seems, by his action, 



242 MODEBN TENNIS 

to justify the journalistic cliche that "he moves 
like a piece of well-oiled machinery. ' ■ 

Brookes 's performance last year is, and prob- 
ably always will be, unique in tennis history. It 
is, I believe, the greatest feat ever accomplished 
in a tennis season. To come up from the anti- 
podes, to win the championship of the world, and 
to lift the Davis Cup — with, of course, some slight 
assistance — was a very remarkable performance. 

McLoughlin, on account of his defeat of both 
Brookes and Wilding, was hailed as the greatest 
player in the world. This, of course, is a great 
mistake. If this idea were to prevail it would be 
a misfortune for the game. In saying this I do 
not depreciate McLoughlin's play in the slightest 
degree. Nobody knows better than McLoughlin 
that playing a bye in a Davis Cup contest is noth- 
ing compared with battling for the championship 
of the world through the All England tournament 
at Wimbledon, with match after match on the try- 
ing center court, and the constant strain on one. 
Moreover, if championships of the world can be 
handed out so easily there is one whose claim to 
it is stronger than McLoughlin's, to wit, J. C. 
Parke. 

McLoughlin is a splendid young athlete, and 
undoubtedly a great player, but it will do neither 
him nor the game any good to take a distorted 
view of his fine performance at Forest Hills 
last year. In serving, smashing, volleying — at 



INTERNATIONAL TENNIS 243 

and above the height of the net — and in receiving 
the service McLonghlin is worthy of the study of 
players, but off the ground he lacks clear knowl- 
edge of the technique of the game, and in low vol- 
leying he still has a good deal to learn. Of course, 
with his rapid start, and consequent early arrival 
at the net, he does not require to use low volleys 
very much, but if his departure for the net were 
delayed by about four feet, he would require to 
cultivate a better low volley than he has hitherto 
shown. 

Wilding's great strength lay, when playing in 
England, in his forehand drive, which kept coming 
back with monotonous regularity and much useful 
pace. I thought Wilding was not the Wimbledon 
Wilding, I am afraid that he must have " eased 
up" after Brookes beat him in England. Wilding 
is of the habit of body that piles up adipose tissue 
very rapidly. I saw him taking his first practise 
at Forest Hills. It was a warm afternoon, cer- 
tainly, but nothing to worry about. After half 
an hour Wilding looked hotter than I have ever 
seen him at Wimbledon, except on the memorable 
occasion of the finish between him and Roper Bar- 
rett on that roasting summer afternoon. More- 
over, his forehand drive seemed shorter and more 
"poky," but that is all in the game. McLoughlin 
beat him fairly and squarely. Wilding's greatest 
asset always has been his endurance, and he al- 
ways had it with him in England and on the 



244 MODEEN TENNIS 

Continent. If he left it at home this time it was 
not McLoughlin's fault. 

I have heard Wilding's backhand extolled. I 
can not see it compared with Norman Brookes' 
stroke, especially for all volleying. It is a hybrid 
form, being neither the English stroke nor the 
Colonial. In an important match in England we 
once took account of mistakes on the backhand 
made by Wilding off balls which he should have 
returned. It totaled up to forty after we had 
allowed him the benefit of all doubtful balls. 
Brookes 's backhand is infinitely better, sounder, 
and severer than most people realize, and it is 
produced in the most perfect truth, which Wild- 
ing's is not. 

Any backhand such as Wilding's or E. N. Wil- 
liams's must suffer in severe work. Williams 
never had the beginning of a backhand compared 
with Andre Gobert at his best, and I have seen 
A. W. Gore, with his famous forehand drive, 
pound the volatile Frenchman on that side so 
that he did not know what he was doing. Against 
severe work, particularly in the modern game, it 
is practically impossible with the English grip to 
drive a straight ball down the side-line con- 
sistently. I have seen all the greatest backhand 
players of the Doherty school, and none of them 
can do this. They can wave it across the court, 
but even then they can not control its direction. 

Thomas C. Bundy is a good foil for McLouglilin 







if: 



I = 




INTERNATIONAL TENNIS 245 

and Williams. In arriving at a true estimate of 
their form, past, present, and particularly future, 
one must allow a tremendous discount for pyro- 
technics, especially with Williams, but with Bundy 
this is not so. What he delivers is all tennis, and 
much better and cleverer than most people know. 
His service is most effective. I have heard many 
players speak slightingly of it. Why, I can not 
understand. I have never seen any of these treat 
it slightingly. Both it and its near relation, the 
reverse cut service, are very serviceable deliveries. 
Bundy worthily filled his place in the last Davis 
Cup matches, and it should go without my saying 
it that he is at all times a most dangerous oppo- 
nent in a double, an astucious and courageous 
player to the last stroke of the rest — and the 
match. 



LAWS OF TENNIS 



THE COURT 



1. The Court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide. It 
is divided across the middle by a net, the ends of 
which are attached to two posts, A and B, stand- 
ing 3 feet outside of the court on either side. The 
height of the net is 3 feet 6 inches at the posts, 
and 3 feet in the middle. At each end of the court, 




parallel with the net, and 39 feet from it, are 
drawn the base-lines D E and F Gr, the ends of 
which are connected by the side-lines D F and 
E G. Halfway between the side-lines, and par- 
allel with them, is drawn the half-court line I H, 

246 



LAWS OF TENNIS 247 

dividing the space on each side of the net into two 
equal parts, the right and left courts. On each 
side of the net, at a distance of 21 feet from it, 
and parallel with it, are drawn the service-lines 
K L and M N. 

THE BALLS 

2. The Balls shall measure not less than 2% 
inches, nor more than 2 9-16 inches in diameter; 
and shall weigh not less than 1 15-16 ounces, nor 
more than 2 ounces. 

THE GAME 

3. The choice of sides, and the right to serve in 
the first game, shall be decided by toss ; provided 
that, if the winner of the toss choose the right to 
serve, the other player shall have choice of sides, 
and vice versa, or the winner of the toss may in- 
sist upon a choice by his opponent. If one player 
choose the court, the other may elect not to serve. 

4. The players shall stand on opposite sides of 
the net ; the player who first delivers the ball shall 
be called the server, and the other the striker-out. 

5. At the end of the first game the striker-out 
shall become server, and the server shall become 
striker-out; and so on alternately in all the sub- 
sequent games of the set and following sets. 

FOOT-FAULT RULE 
Law 6. — The server shall before commencing to 
serve stand with both feet at rest behind (i.e., 
further from the net than) the base-line and within 



248 MODEBN TENNIS 

the limits of the imaginary continuation of the 
half-court and side-lines, and thereafter the server 
shall not run, walk, hop or jump before the service 
has been delivered, but the server may raise one 
foot from (and, if desired, replace it on) the 
ground, provided that both feet are kept behind 
the base-line until the service has been delivered. 

Official Interpretation of law 6: If a foot be 
lifted and replaced, there must be no change of 
position that can possibly be considered a step. 

Law 7. — The service shall be delivered from the 
right and left courts alternately, beginning from 
the right in every game, even tho odds be given or 
owed, and the ball served shall drop within the 
service-line, half-court line and side-line of the 
court which is diagonally opposite to that from 
which it was served or upon any such line. 

Law 8. — It is a fault if the server commit any 
breach of Law 7, or if the service be delivered 
from the wrong court, or if the ball served drop 
in the net or beyond the service-line, or if it drop 
out of court or in the wrong court. If the server 
in attempting to serve, miss the ball altogether, it 
does not count a fault ; but if the ball be touched, 
no matter how slightly, by the racket, a service is 
thereby delivered, and the laws governing the 
service at once apply. 

8. It is a fault if the ball served drop in the 
net, or beyond the service-line, or out of court, or 
in the wrong court; or if the server do not stand 



LAWS OF TENNIS 249 

as directed by law 6. If the server, in attempting 
to serve, miss the ball altogether, it does not count 
a fault, but if the ball be touched, no matter how 
slightly, by the racket, a service is thereby de- 
livered, and the laws governing the service at once 
apply. 

9. A fault can not be taken. 

10. After a fault the server shall serve again 
from the same court from which he served that 
fault, unless it was a fault because he served from 
the wrong court. 

11. A fault can not be claimed after the next 
service is delivered. 

12. The server shall not serve till the striker- 
out is ready. If the latter attempt to return the 
service, he shall be deemed ready. 

13. A service or fault delivered when the 
striker-out is not ready counts for nothing. 

14. The service shall not be volleyed, that is, 
taken before it has touched the ground. 

15. A ball is in play on leaving the server's 
racket, except as provided for in law 8, and re- 
mains in play till the stroke is decided. 

16. It is a good return, altho the ball touch the 
net; but a service, otherwise good, which touches 
the net shall count for nothing. 

17. The server wins a stroke if the striker-out 
volley the service, or if he fail to return the serv- 
ice or the ball in play; or if he return the service 
or the ball in play so that it drops outside of 



250 MODERN TENNIS 

his opponent's court; or if he otherwise lose a 
stroke, as provided by law 20. 

18. The striker-out wins a stroke if the server 
serve two consecutive jfaults; or if he fail to 
return the ball in play ; or if he return the ball in 
play so that it drops outside of his opponent's 
court ; or if he otherwise lose a stroke as provided 
by law 20. 

19. A ball falling on a line is regarded as fall- 
ing in the court bounded by that line. 

20. Either player loses a stroke if the ball touch 
him, or anything that he wears or carries, except 
his racket in the act of striking; or if he touch 
the ball with his racket more than once ; or if he 
touch the net or any of its supports while the ball 
is in play; or if he volley the ball before it has 
passed the net. 

21. In case a player is obstructed by any acci- 
dent, not within his control, the ball shall be con- 
sidered a "let." But when a permanent fixture 
of the court is the cause of the accident, the point 
shall be counted. The benches and chairs placed 
around the court shall be considered permanent 
fixtures. If, however, a ball in play strike a per- 
manent fixture of the court (other than the net or 
posts) before it touches the ground, the point is 
lost ; if after it has touched the ground, the point 
shall be counted. 

22. On either player winning his first stroke, 
the score is called 15 for that player; on either 



LAWS OF TENNIS 251 

player winning his second stroke, the score is 
called 30 for that player; on either player win- 
ning his third stroke, the score is called 40 for 
that player ; and the fourth stroke won by either 
player is scored game for that player, except as 
below. If both players have won three strokes, 
the score is called deuce; and the next stroke won 
by either player is scored advantage for that 
player. If the same player win the next stroke, 
he wins the game; if he lose the next stroke the 
score returns to deuce, and so on until one player 
wins the two strokes immediately following the 
score of deuce, when game is scored for that 
player. 

23. The player who first wins six games wins 
the set ; except as below : If both players win five 
games the score is called games all; and the next 
game won by either player is scored advantage 
game for that player. If the same player win the 
next game, he wins the set; if he lose the next 
game, the score returns to games all; and so on, 
until either player wins the two games immedi- 
ately following the score of games all, when he 
wins the set. But the committee having charge of 
any tournament may in their discretion modify 
this rule by the omission of advantage sets. 

24. The players shall change sides at the end of 
the first, third and every subsequent alternate 
game of each set and at the end of each set, unless 
the number of games in such set be even. It shall. 



252 MODEEN TENNIS 

however, be open to the players by mutual consent 
and notification to the umpire before the opening 
of the second game of the match to change sides 
instead at the end of every set until the odd and 
concluding set, in which they shall change sides 
at the end of the first, third and every subsequent 
alternate game of such set. 

*25. In all contests the play shall be continuous 
from the first service till the match be concluded ; 
provided, however, that at the end of the third set 
either player is entitled to a rest, which shall not 
exceed seven minutes ; and provided, further, that 
in case of an unavoidable accident, not within the 
control of the contestants, a cessation of play 
which shall not exceed two minutes may be allowed 
between points ; but this proviso shall be strictly 
construed, and the privilege never granted for the 
purpose of allowing a player to recover his 
strength or wind. The referee in his discretion 
may at any time postpone the match on account 
of darkness or condition of the ground or weather. 
In any case of postponement, the previous score 
shall hold good. Where the play has ceased for 
more than an hour, the player who at the cessa- 
tion thereof was in the court first chosen shall 
have the choice of courts on the recommencement 



*A11 matches in which women take part in tournaments 
held under the auspices of the United States National Lawn- 
Tennis Association shall be the best two in three sets, with a 
rest not exceeding seven minutes after the second set. 



LAWS OF TENNIS 



253 



of play. He shall stay in the court he chooses 
for the remainder of the set. The last two sen- 
tences of this rule do not apply when the players 
change every alternate game as provided by law 
24. 

26. If a player serve out of his turn, the umpire, 
as soon as the mistake is discovered, shall direct 
the player to serve who ought to have served. 
But all strokes scored before such discovery shall 
be counted. If a game shall have been completed 
before such discovery, then the service in the next 
alternate game shall be delivered by the player 
who did not serve out of his turn, and so on in 
regular rotation. 

27. The above laws shall apply to the three- 
handed and four-handed games, except as below: 

THE THREE-HANDED AND FOUR-HANDED GAMES 



D 




/ 


V 




F 




K 






M 






L 














- 










N 




E. 










G 



254 MODEEN TENNIS 

28. For the three-handed and four-handed 
games the court shall be 36 feet in width ; 4% feet 
inside the side-lines, and parallel with them, are 
drawn the service side-lines K M and L N. The 
service-lines are not drawn beyond the point at 
which they meet the service side-lines, as shown 
in the diagram. 

29. In the three-handed game, the single player 
shall serve in every alternate game. 

30. In the four-handed game, the pair who have 
the right to serve in the first game shall decide 
which partner shall do so ; and the opposing pair 
shall decide in like manner for the second game. 
The partner of the player who served in the first 
game shall serve in the third, and the partner of 
the player who served in the second game shall 
serve in the fourth, and the same order shall be 
maintained in all the subsequent games of the set. 

31. At the beginning of the next set, either 
partner of the pair which struck out in the last 
game of the last set may serve ; and the same 
privilege is given to their opponents in the second 
game of the new set. 

32. The players shall take the service alter- 
nately throughout the game ; a player can not re- 
ceive a service delivered to his partner; and the 
order of service and striking out once established 
shall not be altered, nor shall the striker-out 
change courts to receive the service, till the end 
of the set. 



LAWS OF TENNIS 



255 



33. It is a fault if the ball served do not drop 
between the service-line, half-court line, and serv- 
ice side-line of the court, diagonally opposite to 
that from which it was served. 

34. It is a fault if the ball served do not drop 
as provided in law 35, or if it touch the server's 
partner or anything he wears or carries. 

ODDS 
THE SIXTHS SYSTEM OF HANDICAPPING 

In the case of received odds : 

(a) One-sixth of fifteen is one stroke given in 
every six games of a set in the position shown by 
the annexed table. 

(b) Similarly, two-sixths, three-sixths, four- 
sixths, and five-sixths of fifteen are respectively 
two, three, four, and five strokes given in every 
six games of a set in the position shown by the 
table. 





1st 


2d 


3d 


4th 


5th 


6th 




Game 


Game 


Game 


Game 


Game 


Game. 


% of 15 





15 














% of 15 





15 





15 








% of 15 





15 





15 





15 


% of 15 





15 





15 


15 


15 


% of 15 





15 


15 


15 


15 


15 



256 



MODEEN TENNIS 



In the case of owed odds : 

(a) One-sixth of fifteen is one stroke owed in 
every six games of a set in the position shown by 
the annexed table. 

(b) Similarly, two-sixths, three-sixths, four- 
sixths, and five-sixths of fifteen are respectively 
two, three, four, and five strokes owed in every 
six games of a set in the position shown by the 
following table: 





1st 


2d 


3d 


4th 


5th 


6th 




Game 


Game 


Game 


Game 


Game 


Game 


% of 15 


15 

















% of 15 


15 





15 











% of 15 


15 





15 





15 





%of 15 


15 





15 





15 


15 


% of 15 


15 





15 


15 


15 


15 



CRITICISM OP THE LAWS 

I have referred to the looseness with which the 
laws of tennis are drawn. I may, perhaps, give a 
few instances of what I mean. 

Law 1 says (inter alia) : "The Court is 78 feet 
long and 27 feet wide." It would be well to say, 
"The court is a rectangle 78 feet long by 27 feet 
wide." None of the measurements given are in- 
compatible with the court's being a rhomboid, and 
if it were marked out as directed it would have a 
greater chance of being a rhomboid than a rect- 
angle. A correct scale-plan of the court, with 
named parts, should be given, and should be 
specifically incorporated in the rules. 

Law 4 says (inter alia): "The players shall 
stand on opposite sides of the net. ..." For 
"stand" we should have "play from" or similar 
words. 

Law 7 reads: "The service shall be delivered 
from the right and left courts alternately, begin- 
ning from the right in every game, even tho 
odds be given or owed; and the ball served shall 
drop within the service-line, half-court line and 
side-line of the court which is diagonally opposite 
to that from which it was served, or upon any 
such line." There seems to be needed some rule 

257 



258 MODEEN TENNIS 

or rules defining and naming the different portions 
of the court. That portion of the tennis-court on 
either side of the net is divided into the right and 
left courts. A line runs down the middle from 
base-line to base-line, but the custom now is to 
carry it only from service-line to service-line. 

The letters I. H. on the plan of the court and 
rule No. 1 show clearly, however, that its full 
length is still recognized, for rule 1 says that the 
line I H divides ' ' the space on each side of the net 
into two equal parts, the right and left courts.' ' 

In the early days of the game the full length of 
the line was necessary, as a player in a match 
would sometimes handicap himself to play into one 
half -court only. That, however, was long before 
my time, and is merely a matter of history; but 
it has a bearing on the subject under discussion, 
as will be seen. When one speaks of a subdivision 
of a lawn-tennis court as a "court" simply, so 
far as I know, the term can only mean the right 
court or the left court, each of which contains 
two other subdivisions, the service-court and the 
back-court, but the rules do not use the terms 
service-court and back-court. 

Now, the rule says: "The ball served shall 
drop within the service-line, half -court line and 
side-line of the court which is diagonally opposite 
to that from which it was served. ' ' 

Let us say it was served from the right court. 
Then it is very evident that it must drop into 



CRITICISM OF THE LAWS 259 

the right court on the other side of the net " within 
the service-line, half-court line and side-line of 
the court which is diagonally opposite to that from 
which it was served. ' ' As we are only given three 
boundaries, and as these three boundaries are 
common to both the service-court and the back 
court, it follows that the whole of the diagonally 
opposite right single court, from the net to the 
base-line, is, in this case, open to the server. This, 
so far as I can see, is irrefutable as a point of 
tennis law. It follows that the same holds good 
of the left court. The wording of the rule is 
somewhat different in the laws of the three-handed 
and four-handed games, and mag not bear this in- 
terpretation. 

The trouble, which arises apparently from the 
misuse of the word court for service-court, would 
have been obviated had the fourth boundary been 
given. The draughtsman evidently meant to say 
that the ball served shall drop into the opponent's 
"service-court" which is on that side of the center 
(or half-court) line farther from the server, and 
that it must drop within the area contained by 
the net, the center-line, the service-line, and the 
side-line of such court, in no case produced beyond 
the limits of the said service-court, or upon any 
such line within such limits, and even with this 
definition there should go a properly drawn and 
named plan of the court. 

Law 8. It will be seen that this rule has been 



260 MODEBN TENNIS 

in part duplicated. This, I am informed, has been 
unofficially rectified in some of the published 
copies of the laws. I give it here, however, as it 
is in the latest copy of the Association's rules that 
I could get. 

The second rule 8 states that it is a fault if the 
player do not " stand as directed by law 6." This 
declaration it seems is insufficient and should at 
least read "or if the server do not comply with 
the provisions of law 6." 

The provision that it is not a fault if one in 
serving miss the ball altogether should be abol- 
ished. What would be thought of a similar law 
with regard to air-strokes in golf? 

Law 7 says that "The service shall be delivered 
from the right and left courts alternately, begin- 
ning from the right in every game. ..." 

Law 8 shows clearly that by means of a fault 
"a service is thereby delivered, and the laws gov- 
erning the service at once apply.' ' Therefore, to 
keep the service alternating one must after one 
fault go into the next court to serve; but let us 
read law 10, which says that "After a fault the 
server shall serve again from the same court from 
which he served that fault, unless it was a fault 
because he served from the wrong court." 

It would almost seem from this law that if a 
man had six, or more, consecutive faults to serve 
he would have to deliver them all from the same 
court ! In fact, notwithstanding the peculiar laws 



CEITICISM OF THE LAWS 261 

(7 and 8) which make it necessary to serve alter- 
nate balls, even if faults, from right and left 
courts, this law apparently condemns us to go on 
serving in the same court so long as we serve con- 
secutive faults. This requires some clarifying. 

The clumsy term "striker-out" should be 
abolished. The * ' striker, ' ' or the ' ' receiver, ' ' is all 
that is necessary. 

Law 19 says: "A ball falling on a line is re- 
garded as falling in the court bounded by that 
line." 

This law might be better exprest. I am serving 
from the right court. My ball pitches on the 
center-line within the limits of the service-court. 
Under the rule there are two courts to which it 
may legally be adjudged, my opponent's right and 
left service-courts. In the first case it would be 
good, in the second, bad. Everyone, of course, 
knows to which it belongs, but a law should be 
explicit and not capable of two interpretations. 

Law 20 provides that "Either player loses a 
stroke if the ball touch him, or anything that he 
wears or carries, except his racket in the act of 
striking. . . . 

This law obviously requires adaptation to the 
double game. Also it should read ' ' if the ball ivhen 
in play touch him . . ." while the words "in 
the act of striking," in the absence of definition of 
the word "striking," should be deleted. At pres- 
ent, if one returned a ball close to the net by the 



262 MODEBN TENNIS 

mere rebound off a rigidly held racket it would 
count against him, as it could not be called an 
"act of striking.' ' 

The terms " Three-handed' ' and " Four- 
handed' ' should be abolished, and any rules deal- 
ing with the old three-handed or "unicorn" game 
should be expunged. It no longer exists. It is 
obsolete, as dead as the dodo, and therefore should 
not encumber modern laws of a great and pro- 
gressive game. Singles and doubles are, so far 
as the laws are concerned, the two games known. 

Law 32 says (inter alia): "The players shall 
take the service alternately throughout the game." 
What is meant by this is that the strikers shall 
receive or play the service alternately during each 
game. "Take the service" in tennis language 
usually means "to serve." 

Law 34, which is the last law, says that it is a 
fault if the ball "do not drop as provided in law 
35." I have the authority of Mr. Eobert D. 
Wrenn, the President of the United States Lawn- 
Tennis Association, for stating that "35" means 
"33," and indeed that is obvious; but laws are 
laws, and I should not have taken upon myself 
to do this. It is bad enough to try to interpret 
and carry out the law provided, without pre- 
suming to say what was in the minds of the law- 
makers. 

These few instances — and many more might be 
given — will show the necessity for a careful re- 



CEITICISM OF THE LAWS 263 

vision of the laws of the game. A committee 
should be appointed to draw the laws in an intelli- 
gent manner. They should then be universally 
criticized and ultimately, with alterations where 
necessary, adopted throughout the world. 



REGULATIONS FOE THE INTERNATIONAL 

LAWN-TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP 

(DAVIS CUP) 



Revised and adopted by United States, Great 
Britain, France, Belgium, Austria, Australia, 
1906: 

1. The Competition shall be called "The Inter- 
national Lawn-Tennis Championship," and shall 
be open to any Nation which has a recognized 
Lawn-Tennis Association or Corresponding Or- 
ganization; and, for the purposes of these Regu- 
lations, Australia with New Zealand, the British 
Isles, British South Africa, Canada, India, and 
the United States of America shall, among others, 
be regarded as separate Nations. 

2. The Nation for the time being holding the 
International Lawn-Tennis Championship shall 
hereinafter be termed "The Champion Nation." 

3. The Competition shall take place in accord- 
ance with the following Regulations, and, except 
in so far as may be agreed upon by the competing 
Nations for their own Tie, with the Laws and 
Regulations of the game for the time being 
sanctioned by the Champion Nation. 

4. The management of the Competition shall be 
entrusted to a Committee, hereafter termed "the 
Committee of Management, ' ' which shall be ap- 

264 



INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 265 

pointed annually by the Lawn-Tennis Association 
or Corresponding Organization of the Champion 
Nation. 

5. The Committee of Management shall make 
all arrangements for the preliminary Tie or Ties 
(if any) of the Competition where such prelimi- 
nary Tie or Ties are to be played in the Country 
of the Champion Nation, and also for the Chal- 
lenge Tie, and its decision in respect of all such 
arrangements shall be final. The Committee of 
Management shall also have power to depute to 
others, in any preliminary Tie or Ties, the making 
of all or any such arrangements as may be deemed 
necessary. 

6. Any Nation wishing to compete shall give 
notice to the Secretary of the Lawn-Tennis Asso- 
ciation or Corresponding Organization of the 
Champion Nation, so that it shall reach him not 
later than the first Monday in March of the year 
in which the Competition is to take place. Should 
more than one Nation challenge, they shall com- 
pete among themselves for the right to play the 
Champion Nation in the Challenge Tie. The 
Draw, at which each challenging Nation may be 
represented, shall be made by the Committee of 
Management on the day following the first Mon- 
day in March, and particulars shall be notified to 
the respective Secretaries for the time being of 
the Lawn-Tennis Associations or Corresponding 
Organizations of the several competing Nations, 



266 MODEEN TENNIS 

with an intimation of the latest date by which the 
Tie or Ties shall be concluded. Failure to con- 
clude a Tie by the date fixt by the Committee of 
Management shall render both Sides liable to be 
scratched, unless, in the opinion of the Committee 
of Management, the weather or other unavoidable 
hindrance, shall have made completion impossible. 
Competing Nations shall arrange among them- 
selves for the playing of their respective Ties upon 
a ground or grounds, and upon a date or dates 
convenient to those concerned ; but, in the event of 
an agreement not being arrived at, the prelimi- 
nary Tie or Ties shall be played in the country 
of the Champion Nation upon a ground or 
grounds, and upon a date or dates, to be fixt upon 
by the Committee of Management. 

7. When gate-money shall be taken, one-half of 
the profit shall belong to the visiting Nation; or, 
in the case of a Tie being played on neutral 
ground, one third each to the visiting Nations, and 
the remaining fraction of profit in each case shall 
go to the Nation in whose Country the Tie shall 
be played. 

8. The Challenge Tie shall be played in the 
Country of the Champion Nation at a date and 
upon a ground to be agreed upon by common con- 
sent. In the event of an agreement not being 
arrived at, the fixing of the date and ground shall 
be submitted to Arbitration. 

9. A player shall be qualified to represent a 



INTEENATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 267 

Nation, if he shall have been born in that Nation, 
or shall have resided therein for at least two 
years immediately preceding a Tie, provided al- 
ways that he be a bona fide Amateur; bnt no one 
shall be entitled to play for more than one Nation 
in this Competition during the same year. During 
the time that a player may be qualifying to play 
for a Nation under the residential qualification, 
he may play for the Nation for which he shall have 
been last previously qualified. 

10. The Lawn-Tennis Association or Corres- 
ponding Organization of each of the Nations con- 
cerned shall appoint a Captain of its Side. In 
default of such appointee a Side shall choose 
its own Captain. 

11. For each Tie a Eeferee, from whose decision 
there shall be no appeal, shall be appointed by 
common consent of the Captains of the competing 
Sides. He shall have power to appoint Umpires. 
He shall decide any point of law which an Umpire 
may profess himself unable to decide, or which 
may be referred to him on appeal from the de- 
cision of an Umpire by the players. He shall 
decide, if he be called upon to decide by the 
Captain of either Side, whether or not a Match or 
Matches shall be stopt owing to the state of 
the courts, the state of the weather, darkness, or 
other unavoidable hindrance. 

12. (a) Each competing Nation shall, twenty-one 
days before the date fixt for the commencement of 



268 MODEEN TENNIS 

a Tie, nominate to the Committee of Management 
not more than four players, without specifying 
who shall play in Singles and Doubles. Different 
players, however, may be nominated by a Nation 
for different Ties. 

(b) Each Captain shall, twenty-four hours 
before the time fixt for the commencement of play 
in each Contest, give notice of the composition of 
his Team to the Executive Committee, and his 
Team shall be selected from the four players pre- 
viously nominated for the Tie. Such selection by 
the Captain, however, shall be regarded as solely 
for the convenience of the Executive Committee, 
and may be varied by him before the commence- 
ment of play. 

(c) For the Second Eound of the Singles Con- 
test in any Tie, the Eeferee may sanction the sub- 
stitution of another of the players nominated by 
a Nation for that Tie in the place of any player, 
who, in the opinion of the Eeferee, is incapaci- 
tated by illness, accident, or other unavoidable 
hindrance ; provided that such substitute shall not 
be the player who has already competed in the 
Singles Contest. 

13. The time of cessation of play shall be fixt 
before the commencement of each day's play by 
the Captains of the opposing Sides, or by the 
Eeferee if they shall disagree. It shall be the 
duty of the Eeferee to stop play when this time 
arrives; provided, nevertheless, that he may ex- 



INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 269 

tend the time with the consent of the Captains of 
the opposing Sides. A player shall not be called 
npon to play more than one Match a day, except 
with the unanimous consent of the Captains of 
the opposing Sides and the majority of the Ex- 
ecutive Committee. 

14. Each Tie shall be decided by the combined 
results of Singles and Doubles, and the Side which 
shall win the majority of Matches shall be the 
winner of a Tie. 

15. In the Singles, each Team shall, subject to 
Regulation 12, Clause c, consist of two players, 
who shall play each against each of the opposing 
Team the best of five advantage sets. The order 
of play and courts shall be decided by lot. In the 
Doubles, each Team shall consist of two players, 
who shall play against the opposing Team the best 
of five advantage sets. 

16. Unless otherwise arranged by the unani- 
mous consent of the Captains of the opposing 
Sides and the majority of the Executive Com- 
mittee, the Doubles shall take place between the 
two rounds of the Singles Contest. If, however, 
a player be chosen for both the Singles and 
Doubles Contests, and if, by a change in the above 
arrangements, he be called upon to play his two 
Singles Matches on consecutive days, then there 
shall be an interval of one day between the second 
and the third days ' play. Provided, nevertheless, 
that if there be an interval between the first and 



270 MODEEN TENNIS 

second days' play, either from postponement, 
arrangement, or the interval of a Sunday, there 
shall not be an interval between the second and 
third days' play. 

17. If any player be absent when called upon 
to play by the Eeferee, the opposing Side shall 
be entitled to three love sets. 

18. Any Competing Nation whose Lawn-Tennis 
Association or Corresponding Organization, or 
whose Eepresentatives shall fail to conform to the 
above Eegnlations, may be disqualified by the 
Committee of Management in respect of the Com- 
petition for the year wherein such failure shall 
occur. 

19. Winners of a preliminary Tie shall notify 
the result without delay to the Committee of 
Management, by telegram, which shall be con- 
firmed by letter. 

20. For purposes of correspondence and the 
giving of notices required by these Eegulations, 
the Secretary for the time being of the Lawn- 
Tennis Association or Corresponding Organiza- 
tion of the Champion Nation shall be regarded as 
representing the Committee of Management. 

21. The above Eegulations shall be binding 
upon the Nations concerned, and shall not be 
altered except with the consent of two-thirds of 
the Associations or Corresponding Organizations 
whose Nation shall have from time to time 
competed and who shall record their votes. 



INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 271 

Note. — In the above Regulations, one Nation 
playing against another is regarded as a "Tie"; 
Singles and Doubles are regarded as separate 
"Contests," and the best of five advantage sets 
is regarded as a "Match." The players in 
Singles and Doubles are regarded as separate 
"Teams"; and the players in the combined Con- 
tests as a "Side." 



EEGULATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT 
OF TENNIS TOURNAMENTS 

1. At Tournaments held by Clubs belonging to 
the United States National Lawn-Tennis Associa- 
tion or by Clubs belonging to Associations which 
belong to the National Association or by Associa- 
tions belonging to said National Association, the 
Laws of Lawn-Tennis, as adopted for the time 
being by said National Association, and the Regu- 
lations hereinafter contained shall be observed. 

2. The Officers of the Club holding the Tour- 
nament shall have full power over all details con- 
cerning said Tournament, but shall be entitled to 
delegate their power to a Committee. In case no 
special Committee shall be appointed by the Offi- 
cers of the Club holding the Tournament, the 
powers and functions hereinafter delegated to the 
Committee shall be vested in and performed by 
the Officers of said Club. 

3. A circular shall be issued by the Committee 
specifying the conditions of the competition, and 
including names of Tournament Committee and 
of the Referee. 

4. No cheques, orders for money, or cash pay- 
ments in any form shall be given as prizes, and 
the amount actually paid for each prize shall in 
no case be below the advertised value of the same, 
if included in circular. If any challenge cup is 
offered it shall be deeded to the National Lawn- 

272 



TOURNAMENTS 273 

Tennis Association. (See form of deed of gift 
on following page.) The winner of a Challenge 
Cup shall be entitled to the possession of the cup 
until one month previous to the next competition 
for the cup, possession being conditional on the 
giving of a bond by the winner satisfactory to the 
Club. Should the Club give possession without 
such bond, it shall be liable to the National Asso- 
ciation for the value of the cup. 

5. The Committee shall elect a Referee, with 
power to appoint a substitute to be approved by 
them. The Referee or his duly appointed sub- 
stitute must be present at all times when play is 
in progress. 

6. The Referee or such other member or mem- 
bers of the Committee as may be selected for the 
purpose, shall have power to appoint Umpires and 
Linesmen, to assign courts and to start matches, 
and the Referee shall decide any point of law 
which an Umpire may profess himself unable to 
decide, or which may be referred to him on appeal 
from the decision of an Umpire, and such decision 
shall be final. 

7. The Referee shall, during the Tournament, 
be ex-officio a member of the Committee. 

8. The Committee shall help to keep order on 
the ground, and shall consult and decide upon any 
question arising out of the competition, if sum- 
moned for that purpose by the Referee or by any 
two of their number; and they shall have power, 



274 MODERN TENNIS 

when so convened, the misconduct of a Competitor 
having been reported to them by a member of the 
Committee or an Umpire, to disqualify the 
offender, and further to order him off the ground, 
should his misconduct appear to them to justify 
such action, but before such action shall be taken, 
an opportunity of offering an explanation shall 
be afforded to the competitor, whose misconduct 
has been reported to them. When the whole of 
the Committee of a Club or even a quorum there- 
of may not be available, the members of the Com- 
mittee that are available shall have power to act 
in cases left to the Committee of the Club. 

"DEED OF GIFT" FORM FOR CHALLENGE CUPS 
Know All Men by These Presents: 

That hereby presents to 

the United States National Lawn-Tennis Associa- 
tion the cup tendered herewith, to be called and 

known as and to represent 

to be held under the aus- 
pices of the United States National Lawn-Tennis 
Association, according to such Rules and Regu- 
lations as may be, from time to time, prescribed 
by said Association. The winner of the said 
championship shall be entitled to the possession 
of the cup for the period during which he holds 
the championship, being responsible, however, for 
the production of the cup at the next champion- 
ship contest. This cup shall become the property 



TOURNAMENTS 



275 



of the player who shall win said championship at 
annual championship con- 
tests 

If for any reason no contest for said champion- 
ship should be held for a period of two years, the 
United States National Lawn-Tennis Association 
shall have the right to dispose of said cup as 
shall seem proper. 

(Signature) 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, 



9. It is the duty of an Umpire — 

(a) To ascertain that the net is at the right 
height before the commencement of play, and to 
measure and adjust the net during play, if asked 
to do so, or if, in his opinion, its height has altered. 

(b) To call the faults (subject to Regulation 
10) and lets unless he delegates such power. 

(c) To call the strokes when won, or when he 
is asked to call them, and to record them upon 
the Umpire's scoring-sheet.* 



*Example : 

The strokes are scored by means of pencil marks in the 
spaces beneath the word "Strokes/' thus: 



o 

5 

O 


Initials 

of 
Players 


Strokes 


Game 

won 

by 


1. 


A.B. 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 


1 






















•■- 









X \ C. D. 


a | 


C. D. 




1 




1 


1 




1 






1 


1 


1 


















Ck 


\ A.B. 


1 




1 






1 




1 


l 
















i 







276 



MODEEN TENNIS 



The Scoring Sheet shows that in the first game the score 
ran, and would have been called, thus: — "15 — love, 30 — love, 
30—15, 40—15, 40—30, game (A.B.)" In the second game: 
"Love— 15, 15 all, 15—30, 30 all, 40—30, deuce, advantage 
(CD.), deuce, advantage (A.B.), deuce, advantage (CD.), 
game (CD.)" 

The score of the Server should be called first. 

(d) To call the games and the sets at the end 
of each, or when asked to call them, and to record 
them on the Umpire's scoring-sheet. 

Note — At the end of each game the games should be called 
with the name of the player who is in advance, thus : "2 games 
to 1, B wins" or, "B leads." If the games are level the score 



In scoring handicap matches, the odds received should be 
marked by crosses on the right of the first perpendicular 
thick line before the commencement of each game, thus: 


Initials of 
Game | pi ayer s 


Strokes 


Game 
won by 


1 \ A.B. 


+ 


























J C. D. 


o i CD. 

2 J A.B. 


+ 


+ 
















- 








o j A.B. 


+ 


























3 \ CD. 


























4 i ?.:..?• 


























4 \ A.B. 


+ 


+ 
























5 j. A.B. 


+ 


























5 ) CD. 




























6 j 0. D. 




























° J A.B. 


+ 


+ 

























Here A. B. is receiving 15 and 3-sixths of 15. 



TOURNAMENTS 



277 



should be called thus, "three games all," or as the case may 
be. At the end of each set the sets should be called in like 



manner. 



(e) To direct the Competitors to change sides, 
in accordance with Law 24. 

(/) When appealed to during a rally, whether 
a doubtful ball is "in play" or not, to call "play," 
and at the conclusion of the rally to give his de- 
cision (subject to Regulation 11) or direct the 
Competitors to play the stroke again. 

(g) To decide all doubtful or disputed strokes, 
and all points of law (subject to Regulations 10 



When odds are owed, they should be marked on the left 
of the first thick perpendicular line before the commencement 
of each game, thus: 


Game 


Initials 
Players 


Strokes 


Game 

won by 


i! 


A.B. 


1 


1 


















4- 








C. D. 












„ ) "■"■ 






























£ * 


1 A.B. 




1 


























3 1 AB - 


1 


1 



























o * 


1 C. D. 






















4. 1 


1 C. D. 






























\ A.B. 




1 


























5 ■ 


A.B. 




1 
























- 


1 C. D. 
















6 ■ 


1 C. D. 






















> A.B. 




1 


| 

















278 



MODEBN TENNIS 



and 11), and to be responsible for the proper con- 
duct of the match. 

(h) In handicap matches to call the odds at the 
commencement of each set, 

(i) To sign the Umpire's scoring-sheets, and 
to deliver them at the conclusion of the match to 
such person as the Committee may authorize to 
receive them. 

Provided, that no omission of any of the fore- 
going duties on the part of an Umpire shall of 
itself invalidate any stroke, game, or match. 



and should be crossed off one by one when the player owing 
wins a stroke, thus: 


1 Initials 
Game ^.of 

1 Players 


Strokes 


Game 

won by 


i $ AB - 


4- 


4- 




























( C. D. 
































( C. D. 
2 ] 

( A.B. 




+ 





























( A.B. 

Q J 


+ 


+ 




























1 C. D. 
































( C. D. 

4 \ - 

( A.B. 




+ 




























5 \ AB - 




+ 




























( C. D. 
































( C. D. 
f> J 


























- 






I A.B. 




+ 























Here A. B. owes 15 and 2-sixths of 15. 



TOURNAMENTS 279 

10. It is the duty of the Linesman to call faults 
and to decide strokes relating to the line or lines 
to which he is assigned and to said line or lines 
only, and such decision shall be final. [Words 
limiting the finality of the decision of the Lines- 
man to questions of fact are here desirable. The 
right of appeal from him to the Umpire on a 
question of law should be stated. — P. A. V.] 
Should the Linesman be unable to give a decision, 
the Umpire shall decide or shall direct the stroke 
to be played again. 

11. The decision of an Umpire shall be final 
upon every question of fact, and no competitor 
may appeal from it ; but if an Umpire be in doubt 
as to a point of law, or if a competitor appeal 
against his decision on such a point, the Umpire 
shall submit it to the Referee whose decision shall 
be final. 

Note — A question of fact relates to events that actually 
happened. A question of law is the construction and appli- 
cation of the laws of the game to the admitted facts. 

12. The Referee shall not bet on a match nor 
shall an Umpire or Linesman on the match to 
which he is assigned. An infraction of this rule 
shall be followed by the immediate removal of the 
offending Referee, Umpire, or Linesman on the 
complaint of any competitor. 

13. No Competitor may transfer his entry to 
another player. 



280 MODERN TENNIS 

14. Competitors shall have a right, by them- 
selves or their deputies, to be present at the draw. 

15. The draw shall be conducted in the follow- 
ing manner: Each Competitor's name shall be 
written on a separate card or paper, and these 
shall be placed in a bowl or hat, drawn out one 
by one at random, and copied on a list in the 
order in which they have been drawn. 

Infraction of this rule renders a Club or other 
organization liable to loss of its tournament for 
the following year; except that in invitation 
tournaments, and competitions between nations, 
states, cities, clubs, and similar bodies where the 
competition is really between such bodies and not 
between the players as individuals, players may be 
placed in such manner as agreed upon by the man- 
agement of the competition, and except that in In- 
tercollegiate and Interscholastic matches the draw 
shall be arranged to prevent members of the same 
college or school from meeting each other in the 
first and second rounds, the draw in other ways be- 
ing arranged absolutely by chance. 

16. When the number of Competitors is 4, 8, 
16, 32, 64, or any higher power of 2, they shall 
meet in pairs, in accordance with the system 
shown by the following diagram : 



TOURNAMENTS 



281 



1st Round 
A 



B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 



2d Round 

— in 



-D 



-F1 



■H 



3d Round 



-G 



17. When the number of Competitors is not a 
power of 2 there shall be byes in the first round. 
The number of byes shall be equal to the differ- 
ence between the number of Competitors and the 
next higher power of 2, and the number of pairs 
that shall meet in the first round shall be equal 
to the difference between the number of Com- 
petitors and the next lower power of 2. The byes, 
if even in number, shall be divided, as the names 
are drawn, in equal proportions at the top and 
bottom of the list, above and below the pairs. If 
uneven in number, there shall be one more bye at 
the bottom than at the top. Thus— 



282 



MODEBN TENNIS 



SERIES 1 

From 5 to 8 Competitors 

1st Round 

A (a bye) A 

B 



-B 



-E 



-A 



D (a bye) D 

E (a bye) E 

With 6, there will be one bye at the top, and 1 bye at the 
bottom. With 7, 1 bye at the bottom. With 8, no byes. 

SERIES 2 
From 9 to 16 Competitors 
With 9, 3 byes at the top, and 4 byes at the bottom. 
1st Round 



A (a bye). 


..A 


B (a bye). 


...B. 


C (a bye). 


... C 


d] 


F 


Ej 

F (a bye) . 


...F 


G (a bye) . 


...G. 


H (a bye) . 


...H 


I (a bye) . 


...I 



-B 



-E 



-E^ 



-G1 



-H 



-G 



-G 



With 10, 3 byes at the top and 3 at the bottom. 
With 11, 2 byes at the top, and 3 at the bottom. 
With 12, 2 byes at the top, and 2 at the bottom. 
With 13, 1 bye at the top, and 2 at the bottom. 
With 14, 1 bye at the top, and 1 at the bottom. 
With 15, 1 bye at the bottom. 
With 16, no byes. 



TOURNAMENTS 



283 



SERIES 3 

From 17 to 32 Competitors. 

With 17, 7 byes at the top, and 8 byes at the bottom. 



A 
B 

C 

D 

E 
F 

G 

f\ 



First 
Round 
(a bye) 
(a bye) 



Second 
Round 



Third 
Round 



Fourth 
Round 



Fifth 
Round 



-D 



(a bye) . . C } 
(a bye).. D 5 

(a bye) . .E \ 
(a bye)..Ff 

(abye)..G 
H 



-D 



-hJ 



-H 



J (a bye) . . J \ 

K (a bye)..Kj 

L (a bye). .L 

M (a bye)..M 



•K 



-K 



-M. 



(a bye)..N ) 
(a bye)..0 i 



-0 



P (a bye)..P} 
Q (a bye)..Q J 



-0 



V o 







■Q 



With 18, 7 byes at the 
With 19, 6 byes at the 
6 byes at the 
5 byes at the 



With 20, 
With 21, 
With 22, 
With 23, 
With 24, 
With 25, 



byes at the 
byes at the 
byes at the 
byes at the 



With 26, 3 byes at the 
With 27, 2 byes at the 
With 28, 2 



top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
top, and 
bottom. 



bves at the 
With 29, 1 bye at the 
With 30, 1 bye at the 
With 31, 1 bye at the 
With 32, no byes. 
And so on with larger numbers in the same manner 



byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
byes 
bye 



at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 
at the 



bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom, 
bottom. 



284 MODEEN TENNIS 

18. If a Competitor be absent when called upon 
to play, or shall refuse to play, or shall have given 
previous notice to the Eeferee or to a member of 
the Committee that he can not play in the next 
round, his adversary shall win in that round, 
unless said Competitor shall have been formally 
excused for a definite period by the Eeferee. 

19. In handicap matches the competitors shall 
be handicapped by the Committee, or by a Handi- 
capper appointed by the Committee. 

20. The method of handicapping shall be by 
classes as below: — 







GIVEN ODDS 






Class 0— (Scratch) 


Class 


1 


receives 1-sixtli of 15. 


u 


2 


a 


2-sixths of 15. 


it 


3 


tt 


3-sixths of 15. 


ti 


4 


tt 


4-sixths of 15. 


a 


5 


tt 


5-sixths of 15. 


it 


6 


a 


15. 


a 


7 


a 


15 and 1-sixth of 15. 


a 


8 


a 


15 and 2-sixths of 15. 


it 


9 


a 


15 and 3-sixths of 15. 


a 


10 


u 


15 and 4-sixths of 15. 


a 


11 


a 


15 and 5-sixths of 15, 


a 


12 


a 


30. 


a 


13 


a 


30 and 1-sixth of 15. 


tt 


14 


a 


30 and 2-sixths of 15. 


a 


15 


a 


30 and 3-sixths of 15. 


a 


16 


a 


30 and 4-sixths of 15. 


tt 


17 


a 


30 and 5-sixths of 15. 


tt 


18 


tt 


40. 



When two players in different classes below 
scratch meet, the superior player shall start from 
scratch, and the odds received by the inferior 
player are as shown by the annexed table, No. 1. 
To use the table, find in the diagonal line of figures 



TOURNAMENTS 285 

the number representing the class of the superior 
player, then travel along the horizontal column 
until the vertical column is reached which bears 
at the top the number of the class of the inferior 
player. The odds specified at the intersection of 
the two columns are the odds required. 

Example. — If class 3 has to meet class 9, start 
from the figure 3 in the diagonal line of figures, 
and look horizontally until the vertical column is 
reached headed by the figure 9. The odds given 
at the point of intersection of the two columns 
(viz., 15 and 1-6 of 15) are the odds required. 

When the difference between the best and the 
worst players entered is great (say more than 30), 
it is desirable to handicap the best players at owed 
odds. The players above scratch (i.e., owing 
odds) should be classified as follows: — 



Class 





OWED ODDS 


1 


owes 


; 1-sixth of 15. 


2 


a 


2-sixths of 15. 


3 


u 


3-sixths of 15. 


4 


a 


4-sixths of 15. 


5 


a 


5-sixths of 15. 


6 


u 


15. 


7 


tt 


15 and 1-sixtb of 15. 


8 


ti 


15 and 2-sixths of 15. 


9 


(( 


15 and 3-sixths of 15. 


10 


a 


15 and 4-sixths of 15. 


11 


u 


15 and 5-sixths of 15. 


12 


(i 


30. 


13 


a 


30 and 1-sixth of 15. 


14 


a 


30 and 2-sixths of 15. 


15 


a 


30 and 3-sixths of 15. 


16 


u 


30 and 4-sixths of 15. 


17 


u 


30 and 5-sixths of 15. 


18 


u 


40. 






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288 MODEEN TENNIS 

When two players in different classes above 
scratch meet, the inferior player shall start from 
scratch, and the odds owed by the superior player 
are as shown by the annexed table, No. 2. 

This table is to be used in the same way as the 
former, the class of the superior player being 
looked for in the horizontal line of figures at the 
top, and the class of the inferior player in the 
diagonal line of figures. 

Example. — If class 12 (owe 30) meet class 7 
(owe 15 and 1-6 of 15), the former must owe the 
latter the odds of 4-6 of 15. 

21. In Championship matches and handicaps by 
classes, as above, advantage sets shall be played 
throughout. 

22. The Committee may, whether appealed to 
by any Competitor or not, postpone the meeting 
or any match or part of a match if, in their opin- 
ion, the state of the weather, or of the light, or 
the condition of the ground, or other circum- 
stances, render it advisable to do so. In cases of 
postponement, Law 25 must be strictly observed. 

23. In all Tournaments sanctioned by the Asso- 
ciation the use of spikes longer than one-eighth 
of an inch is prohibited.* 



* I have the authority of Mr. Robert D. Wrenn, the Presi- 
dent of the United States Lawn-Tennis Association, for stating 
that "one-eighth" should read "one-fourth." 



EEGULATIONS FOR INTERSCHOLASTIC 
TOURNAMENTS 

Colleges or clubs, members directly or indirectly 
of the United States National Lawn-Tennis Asso- 
ciation, may, with the consent of the Association, 
give Interscholastic tournaments. 

Players in such tournaments shall be limited to 
boys attending schools preparing for college. 

No player shall take part who is over twenty 
years of age, and no player shall take part in more 
than one Interscholastic event in one year. 

The winners of such tournaments shall be 
eligible to play for the Interscholastic Champion- 
ship at a tournament given by the National Asso- 
ciation, and should a winner of an Interscholastic 
tournament be unable to play for the Champion- 
ship the management of the Interscholastic which 
he should have represented shall have the power 
to appoint a substitute, provided that such sub- 
stitute played in the said Interscholastic tourna- 
ment given that year. No dues shall be required 
by the National Association other than the regular 
dues of the college or club giving the event. 



CASES AND DECISIONS 

The following Cases and Decisions are intended 
to meet questions often asked at Tournaments, 
and also to cover points apparently not provided 
for in the Laws. 

I. A player standing outside the court volleys 
the ball or catches it in his hand, and claims the 
stroke because the ball was certainly going out of 
court. 

Decision. — He loses the stroke. It makes no 
difference where he was standing. The return is 
presumed good until it strikes the ground outside 
of the court [or the permanent appointments of 
the court.— P. A. V.] 

II. A player is struck by the ball served before 
it has touched the ground, he being outside of the 
service-court. How does it count? 

Decision. — The player struck loses the stroke. 
The service is presumably good until it strikes in 
the wrong court. A player can not take the de- 
cision upon himself by stopping the ball. If it is 
going to be a fault, he has only to get out of the 
way. 

III. The service is delivered before the striker- 
out is ready. He tries to return it and fails. Is 
he entitled to have it played over again? 

Decision. — No. If he attempts to return the 
service he is deemed ready. 

290 



CASES AND DECISIONS 291 

IV. The striker-out calls "Not ready/ ' for a 
second service. The ball strikes beyond the serv- 
ice-line, and the striker-out claims that the fact 
that he was not ready makes no difference, since 
a fault can not be returned, and, therefore, that 
two faults have been served. 

Decision. — The second service goes for nothing. 
A player can not call "Not ready,' ' and then have 
the service count, or not, as suits his interests. 

V. A ball having been played over the net 
bounds back into the court from which it came. 
The player reaches over the net and plays it 
before it falls. Has he a right to do so? 

Decision. — Yes, provided he does not touch the 
net.* He has a right to play the ball at any time 
from the moment it crosses the net into his court 
until it touches the ground a second time. 

VI. A ball is played into the net; the player 
on the other side, thinking that the ball is coming 
over, strikes at it and hits the net. Who loses the 
stroke? 

Decision. — It is simply a question of fact for 
the umpire to decide. If the player touched the 
net while the ball was still in play he loses the 
stroke. 
[The ball is in play until it has rolled or fallen 

back from the net to the court. This is not 

generally recognized. — P. A. V.] 



* The words "while the ball is in play" should be added 
here.— P. A. V. 



292 MODEEN TENNIS 

VII. Can a player follow a ball over the net 
with his racket, provided that he hits the ball on 
his own side of the net? 

Decision. — Yes. The only restrictions are that 
he shall not volley the ball until it has crossed 
the net, and that he shall not touch the net or any 
of its supports. 

VIII. A player's racket slips out of his hand 
and flies into the net. Does he lose the stroke for 
hitting the net? 

Decision. — Yes, if the ball be still in play. It 
does not matter if the racket be in a player 's hand 
or not. 

IX. A player's racket leaves his hand, but meets 
the ball and returns it over the net. Is it a good 
return. 

Decision. — Yes. There is no law requiring a 
racket to be in a player's hand when the ball is 
returned. It would unquestionably be a good 
return if the racket were held against the ground 
by a player's feet, and the ball bounded back off it. 

X. A single match is played with a double net 
and inside posts. A player touches the net be- 
yond the inside posts, and claims that he does not 
lose the stroke because there should be no net 
more than three feet outside of the court. 

Decision. — He loses the stroke. The net where 
he touches it is part of the supports of the net. 
He might, perhaps, have objected to the arrange- 
ment of the net before the match. 



CASES AND DECISIONS 293 

XL A player returns the ball, and, finding that 
he can not stop himself before reaching the net, 
jumps over it. Is it a good return? 

Decision. — Law 4 requires that "the players 
shall stand on opposite sides of the net," and 
therefore the player in invading his opponent's 
court loses the stroke. 

[The decision in this case must, it seems, rest on 
the question as to whether the ball is in play or 
not. If the player, for example, were to smash 
the return on to an opposing player, and then, 
not being able to stop, jump the net, the return 
should be good. — P. A. V.] 

XII. A ball passes outside the post of the net 
and strikes in court. Is it a good return? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XIII. A ball going out of court hits the top of 
the post of the net and bounds into the opposite 
court. 

Decision. — It is a good return. 

XIV. The service or the ball in play strikes a 
ball lying in the court. Can it be returned? 

Decision. — Yes, if it be clear to the umpire that 
the right ball is returned. 

XV. The server claims that the striker-out must 
stand in the court. Is this necessary? 

Decision. — No. The striker-out can stand 
wherever he pleases on his own side of the net. 

XVI. A bystander gets in the way of a player, 



294 MODEKN TENNIS 

who fails to return the ball. May he then claim 
a let? 

Decision. — Yes, if, in the umpire's opinion, he 
was prevented by an accident beyond his control. 
For instance, if the ropes or the seats are allowed 
to be so near to the court that a player is inter- 
fered with by them, the stroke should not be 
played again, because the ropes and seats form 
part of the arrangements of the ground. If, how- 
ever, a spectator passes in front of those seats, or 
places a chair nearer than the original line, and 
so interferes with a player, the stroke should be 
played again. 

XVII. A player is interfered with as above, 
and the umpire directs the stroke to be played 
again. The server had previously served a fault. 
He claims the right to two services. 

Decision. — The fault stands. A let does not 
annul a previous fault. 

XVIII. A return hits the umpire, or his chair 
or stand, the player claims that the ball was going 
into court. 

Decision. — Stroke is lost. 

XIX. A player receiving fifteen, serves from 
the left court. His opponent claims a fault. 

Decision. — It is a fault. The service starts 
from the right court under all circumstances. 

XX. At fifteen-all the server by mistake serves 
from the left court, he wins the stroke and serves 
again a fault, the mistake is then discovered. Is 



CASES AND DECISIONS 295 

he entitled to the previous stroke? From which 
court should he serve next? 

Decision. — The previous stroke stands. A fault 
can not be claimed after the next service, good or 
not, is delivered. The next service should be from 
the left court, the score being thirty-fifteen, and 
the server has served one fault. 

XXI. A player serves from the wrong court, he 
loses the stroke, and then claims that it was a fault. 

Decision. — If the stroke was played on his first 
service it is simply a fault, but if he serves twice 
into the wrong court he has served two faults, and 
lost the stroke. 

XXII. The score is five games all, and the um- 
pire directs the players to play an advantage set. 
The advantage game has been won, when it is dis- 
covered that no advantage sets are to be played. 
What is to be done? 

Decision. — The set is won at the eleventh game. 
It is no part of the umpire's duty to decide on the 
conditions of the matches. 

XXIII. A player serves. He hears the umpire 
call, but can not hear what he says. He knows 
that the only two things that the umpire should 
call are "fault" and "let," and that in neither 
case can the ball be in play. He, therefore, does 
not return it, only to find that the umpire has 
called "play." Has he any redress? 

Decision. — No. 

XXIV. The umpire calls "fault," and then in- 



296 MODEBN TENNIS 

stantly changes and says "play." The striker- 
out fails to return the ball, and he claims he was 
prevented by the umpire, and also that the umpire 
can not change his decision. 

Decision. — The umpire should call a let and the 
service be taken again. 

XXV. A ball drops near a line, the player ap- 
peals, and the umpire calls "play." The player 
misunderstands the call and lets the ball fall. He 
then claims to have the stroke played again. 

Decision. — The stroke stands. 

XXVI. The ball strikes the ground close to a 
line, the scorer scores the stroke against the 
striker. On appeal to the linesman, the latter de- 
cided that the ball was not out. Which decision 
stands ? 

Decision. — The scorer has no right to consider 
a ball out until the linesman has called to that 
effect; therefore, the decision of the latter must 
be accepted. The decision of a linesman affecting 
his own line is final. 
[The decision of a linesman "affecting his own 

line is final" only as to matters of fact. On 

questions of law an appeal lies to the referee. 

—P. A. V.] 

XXVII. A return strikes the cord running 
along the bottom of the net and bounds over. Is 
it a good return? 

Decision. — Yes. 
[This is a very doubtful decision. Unless the 



CASES AND DECISIONS 297 

cord were a hawser it would be impossible 
for any ball to " bound' ' over without also 
striking the court were it a hard court or turf, 
but if the net were tightly strung and the bottom 
cord some distance from the court the return 
would be good, if the ball hit the cord and 
"climbed" over, as is possible. I have seen a 
ball with top spin hit the net half-way down, 
drive it in, and as the net swung back run up it 
and fall over, a perfectly good return. — P.A.V.] 

XXVIII. During play a ball is thrown into 
court, and the ball in play strikes it or a player 
steps on it. May a let be claimed? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XXIX. The server's first service strikes his 
partner. Does he lose the stroke or is it a fault? 

Decision. — A fault. 

XXX. A player serves a fault and it is then dis- 
covered that it is his partner's service. Does the 
fault stand? 

Decision. — Yes. 

XXXI. In a four-handed competition one 
player does not appear in time to play, and his 
partner claims to be allowed to play single-handed 
against the opposing pair. May he do so? 

Decision. — No. 



INDEX 



Absence of competitor, 284. 

American service, 58, 122, 123; 
and Dohertys, 53. 

Angles of court, how to study, 
184. 

Anticipation, value of, 163. 

Arm, left, balance of, 83. 

Australasian and English ten- 
nis compared, 199. 

Backhand drive, spin of, 96; 
English grip, 85 et seq; firm 
finish, 96; standard, 236; 
stroke, 32; which side of 
racket to use, 87. 

Background, 3. 

Baddeley, W., 157. 

Ball, flight of, 51; in play, 
touching player, 250; rising, 
how to play, 79; too close to, 
29; when in play, 249. 

Balls, size and weight of, 247. 

Barrett H. Eoper, 240, 243. 

Betting, 279. 

Brookes, Norman E., 9, 87, 114, 
117, 129, 202, 240, 241; and 
Davis Cup matches, 230; his 
backhand, 244; and service, 
233. 

Bundy, Thomas C, 128, 244, 
245. 

Byes, in draw, 281. 

Caridia, G. A., 219. 
Cases and decisions, 290. 
Centering the service in doubles, 

170. 
Center-theory, 152. 
Certainty before pace, 30. 
Challenge cup, deed of gift for, 

274. 
Change of sides, 251. 
Chop, 52, 99; flight of, 99; 

must be played smartly, 102; 

on net, 71. 



Combined doubles, 178. 
Competitor, absent, 284. 
Court, the, 1 ; angles of, how to 

study, 184; how to mark, 4; 

plan of, 7; plan of, in rules, 

246. 
Criticism of laws, 257. 
Cut drive, 77. 

Davis Cup, how America can re- 
gain, 222; regulations, 264. 

de Borman, M. Paul, 81. 

Decisions, 290. 

Deed of gift of Challenge Cup, 
274. 

Dimensions of court, 2, 3. 

Dixon, C. P., 240. 

Dohertys and American service, 
53. 

Doherty, H. L., 85, 86, 117, 214; 
late R. F., 85, 86. 

Dohertys, Messrs, 40, 41, 85, 
202; and stroke production, 
88. 

Doubles, 167; center drive in, 
167; cross-court drive in, 
168; ladies', 188; lob in, 168; 
side-line drive in, 168. 

Draw, byes in, 281 ; competi- 
tors ' right to attend, 280; 
the, in tournaments, 280. 

Dress, 10. 

Drive, center, in doubles, 167; 
forehand lifting, 66; the 
backhand, 82; with cut, 77. 

Dunlop, A. W., 202. 

Elbow and backhand, 93. 

English, and Australasian ten- 
nis compared, 199; grip, 89; 
grip of racket, 85; tennis, 
204. 

Evelegh, late B. C, 117. 

Eye on the ball, 19, 35. 



299 



300 



INDEX 



Fact, questions of, 134. 

Faults, law of, 248. 

Feet, position for backhand, 33 ; 

position for forehand, 28. 
Flight of forehand drive, 68, 

69; of various balls, 105. 
Foot-faults, 115, 130; foot-fault 

rule, 247. 
Foot-work, E. N. Williams's 

bad, 232, 233. 
Forehand drive with lift, 66; 

stroke, 27. 
Forest Hills, 243. 
Form, American lack of, 222; 

how acquired, 234. 
Foul services, 115. 
Foundation-stroke of tennis, 

26. 

Gobert AndrJ, 86, 90, 244. 
Gore, A. W., 90, 199, 218, 231, 
240. 



Half- Volley, the, 36; correct- 
ing angle, 38 ; covering bound, 
38. 

Handicapping, 255, 284 et seq. 

Hillyard, George W., 138, 220. 

Hold of racket, 14. 

Implements, 9. 
International, championship 
regulations, 264; tennis, 239. 
Interscholastic tournaments, 289. 

Ladies' Singles, 183. 

Ladies, the, 140; and volleying, 
143. 

Larned, W. A., 116; his strokes, 
234. 

Law of the game in decisions, 
290. 

Laws, criticism of, 257; of ten- 
nis, 246. 

Let, 250; in service, 249. 

Lift, 52; climbing net, 71; how 
to learn, 75; tendencies of, 
73. 

Lifting drive, merit of, 72. 

Linesman's duties, 279. 



Lob, backhand, 50; cut, 107; 
dividing the distance, 189; 
flight of cut lob, 107; halv- 
ing distance in, 161; the, 49, 
160. 

Lob-volley, the, 45. 

McLoughlin, Maurice E., 24, 
114, 120, 121, 127, 223, 226; 
and overspin, 231; backhand 
stroke, 224, 228, 236, 237; 
his game unbalanced, 223. 

McLoughlin 's backhand in 
Davis Cup matches, 229; his 
follow-through, 227; his fore- 
hand, 225; his form in ser- 
vice and smash, 230. 

Management of tournaments, 
272. 

Meers, E. G., 219. 

Mixed doubles, 178. 

Net ball, 249. 

Net, playing too close to, 232; 
posts, 6; single and double, 8. 
Newport, 119, 136. 

Odds, reduction of, 284 et seq. 

Parke, J. C. 240, 242. 

Passing shot, slow, 160. 

Pell, T. E., 97; his backhand 

stroke, 235; his forehand 

stroke, 235. 
Personalities, 213. 
Plane of force in backhand, 87. 
Practise, 189. 

President U. S. L. T. A., 262. 
Pull, the, 78. 

BACKETS, 9. 

Eacket, care of, 13; English 

grip of, 14; English hold of, 

89; grip of, 14; held firmly, 

30 ; how to hold, 24. 
Receiver's partner, position of, 

174 et seq. 
Eeduction of odds, 284 et seq. 
Eest, during match, 252. 
Eeverse American service, 58 et 

seq. 
Riseley, F. L., 218. 



INDEX 



301 



Rising ball, how to play, 79. 
Ritchie, M. J. G., 216, 220, 240. 
Rotation, effect of, 72. 

Score-sheets, 276, 277, 278. 

Scoring, method of, 250, 275. 

Seabright, 135. 

Service, 18, 150 ; alternate deliv- 
ery, 248; American, 58, 61, 
62, 63, 122, 123; American, 
swerve in bound, 125; await- 
ing the, 23; ball too far in 
front, 106; cardinal rules of, 
25; center-theory in, 170; 
chop, 64; forehand cut, 52, 
55; how to receive, 155; 
swerve in bound of American 
service, 125; may not be 
taken by partner, 254; not to 
be volleyed, 249 ; out of turn, 
253 ; placing the, 21 ; position 
of receiver, 155; return of, 
151 ; reverse overhead cut, 52, 
57, 59; the modern, 114; un- 
derhand cut, 58, 60. 

Shoes, 10; English, 11. 

Sides, change of, 251. 

Single game, the, 148. 

Sixths system of handicapping, 
255. 

Slacking, danger of, 166. 

Slow passing shots, 160. 

Smash, the, 46; the bounding, 
112. 

Smashing, important points, 47. 

Smith, S. H., 218 ; and forehand 
drive, 231. 

Spin, varieties of, 52. 

Striker-out not ready, 249. 

Striker-out 's partner, position 
of, 174 et seq. 

Strokes — Class II, 55. 

Stroke, foundation, in tennis, 
26. 

Strokes, plain, Class I, 18; 
should be standardized, 234; 
with and without spin, 17. 



Sun, and court, 3. 

Theory of center play, 152. 
Top spin, 52. 
Toss for side, 247. 
Tournament play, 192. 
Tournaments, regulations for 

management, 272. 
Training, 195. 

Umpire's decision, 279. 
Umpiring and linesmen, 197. 
Unchanged grip, 85. 
United States National Lawn- 
Tennis Association, 133. 

Vaile, P. A., 116, 138. 

Volley, the, and Messrs. Doher- 
ty, 40, 41 ; overhead, 46 ; over- 
head backhand, 47; the, 39; 
the cut, 111. 

Volleying and the net, 43; 
axioms, 41; for ladies, 143. 

Volleys, lifting, 112. 

Ward Holcombe, 218. 

Weight in stroke, 27; transfer- 
ence of, 19, 35. 

Westchester, 136. 

West Side Tennis Club, Presi- 
dent of, 121. 

Wilding, A. P., 86, 118, 127, 
149, 243; and Davis Cup 
matches, 230; and forehand, 
232; his backhand, 244. 

Williams, R. N., 2d, 228, 244; 
and backhand, 232; and 
backhand stroke, 232, 233; 
and Davis Cup matches, 230 ; 
and foot-work, 232, 233. 

Wimbledon, 137, 203, 224. 

Wrenn, Robert D., 262, 288. 

Wright, Beals C, 218. 

Wrist and backhand, 93 ; firm in 
stroke, 235; work in back- 
hand, -84. 

Women, English, and grip, 90. 

World's championship, 224. 



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